


On The Edge of Destruction

by Star_Phoenix



Series: New History [1]
Category: X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) - Fandom
Genre: AU, Charles doesn't deserve this, Charles is a Horseman, Dark, Erik Has Feelings, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Erik, What am I doing?, X-Men: Apocalypse Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-11 02:55:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 45,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7024492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star_Phoenix/pseuds/Star_Phoenix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the death of his family, Erik finds himself fighting against a God to save the world, but this time, Charles isn't there to save them or help them. And at the end of the world, Erik is going to need all the help he can get.</p><p>Or</p><p>In which, Charles is recruited by Apocalypse and Erik wants nothing more than Charles back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I read somewhere that in an earlier draft of the script, Charles was supposed to be the fourth horseman instead of Psylocke. And I really wanted to see Erik be the good guy for once, so I decided to create the best of both worlds here. This is my first X-Men fic, so I'd love some feedback. :)  
> This is also a huge AU. The new generation of kids are coming in soon, but I'm planning to limit Moira's role in the story since I felt she really didn't do that much in the movie.

Poland is very nice this time of year, with the blue sky and air that is the just right temperature where any clothing is comfortable. And, it's the just the way Erik likes it. It was the perfect temperature to wear a black suit in direct sunlight...and not sweat. But now, it really didn't matter how nice the day was, no day should be nice when a man buries his wife and daughter. 

Erik bit back bitter tears but shook with suppressed sobs. He knelt in front of two graves, hands reaching out and grabbing the cold stone and his senses feeling the metal hinges of the coffins below. He finally let the tears fall as he bowed his head, a whisper of _"My babies."_ is all the met the wind. 

He knew he would always remember the way he found his house. The way it was a ball of twisted metal and broken wood, or the way the EMTs were pulling his family's twisted bodies from the wreckage. But he'd always remember the way that no one responsible for it. It was an earthquake and just that. It sent the house crumbling on his sleeping wife and daughter. He almost wished someone did it. So he could tear into them and get revenge, justice, _closure._

But, he couldn't.

He spent ten years building this life and now, in a matter of days, it came crashing down around his ears. And, it made him angry beyond belief but yearning for the comfort of a friend. He almost wished he could visit someone who wouldn't consider him an enemy. He wished. He knew he couldn't. Crawling back to Charles or Mystique after ten years? After he lost everything? It would seem patehtic...especially after Charles practically offered him a family and he turned it down with a single sentence. 

_"Goodbye, old friend."_

He glanced at the graves one last time and made no thought to get up, no matter how much his knees were aching. 

**Magda Lehnsherr                 Nina Lehnsherr**

**1947-1983                        1975-1983**

**Beloved Wife                    Beloved Daughter**

 

Erik didn't even make an attempt to move when he heard footsteps behind him, he just bowed his head and spat, "Are you here to arrest a grieving man?"

"No," Mystique said from behind him, looking blonde and beautiful, "but we need your help."

"Why?"

And at that moment, Hank McCoy spoke up from behind her and he simply said, "Because Charles is missing."

And...it was almost cliche with the way that Erik stood up and whipped around. His eyes were wide and a locket was simply hanging from his hands. He gripped the necklace tighter and hissed out slowly, "What happened?"

* * *

 

And that was how Erik found himself sitting on a plane surrounded by two people he never thought he'd see again. Mystique looked older, not that her appearance changed, it was simply the way she held herself. The way her brow furrowed or the way her eyes didn't seem so innocent, despite her never truly killing a man. Hank McCoy, on the other hand, looked as if he hadn't aged a day. He still looked like he did ten years ago, minus blue fur and the rage that nearly drowned Erik in a fountain in Paris.

"Please," Erik bit out, he had changed from his suit but the necklace was now around his neck and that was where it would remain, "tell me what happened to Charles. You said to wait until we were at the ship...and here we are."

Hank pursed his lips and sighed, "Well, it all started about two weeks ago."

"When the earthquakes started?" Erik questioned and Hank nodded solemnly. 

"At first..."

 

_Cerebro and the hallways that lead to it were always cold and quiet. It had always reminded Hank of a freezer, but he had always found it quite fitting with what the machine could do. Charles was next to him, wheelchair moving on its own thanks to Hank's design, but the Professor talked anyway, "I thought it was nuclear testing at first, but it hasn't stopped in weeks, Hank. Jean isn't fairing well with it. I think it's mutant related."_

_Alex Summers snorted in laughter next to him, "Yeah, I was starting to get that feeling."_

_Charles only smiled and threw him a look, "Hank, you said that the readings originated from Cairo?"_

_"Yes."_

_"We can check there with Cerebro." Charles explained, "And find if there is any large scale mutant activity there...and if there isn't, then I will keep looking."_

_His chair stopped right in front of Cerebro's door and as always, that symbolic blue X appeared over his face, along with the monotone voice of 'Hello, Professor'. They continued their journey deeper into Cerebro until Charles finally stopped at the console. His hands grabbed the helmet and slipped it on as Hank turned switches. Alex looked up and finally sighed, "You know, after M-Day ten years ago, I thought these problems would be over."_

_"We all did," Charles breathed out, "but, where one problem is solved, there are always ten more at its close."_

_"Very poetic." Alex chuckled._

_And then, just like that, the room burst into colored lights. Charles blinked and narrowed his eyes in concentration as the map of the world slowly turned towards Cairo. Hank stared at the Professor's hands as they clenched the armrests of his wheelchair, he swallowed in worry. Charles simply blinked and said, "They're panicking."_

_"Wouldn't you if your city was shaking?" Alex asked with a shrug._

_Hank only smiled at his wisecrack. "Professor, is there anything on why it's shaking?"_

_No answer._

_"Professor?"_

_No answer._

_Both non-telepaths looked up in worry. Their eyes met for a moment and Hank reached out towards Charles. His hands brushed the Professor's jacket, but that's when he felt it. The brush of minds. The torrent of fear and chaos. His eyes widened and he_ _was nearly swept_ _away._

_Ohgodno.Mychild.Whereisshe?Whatishappening?Mama,whyisn'tdaddymoving? **The weak have inherited the Earth.** OhGod.Thebuildingisfalling!Someonehelpmysonplease! **Five thousand years I've been asleep.** Whatthehellishappening? **I'm here now my children.** Everythingisshaking.I'mscared._

_Hank's hand snapped away as if he'd been burned. And Alex looked worried. He snapped his fingers in front of Charle's face and finally the Professor blinked. Alex let out a sigh of relief but the worry never left his face, "Professor, are you okay? What happened?"_

_"Yeah," Charles breathed, "It was just...a lot to take in at once."_

_"What did you see?" Hank asked, still remembering the rush of thoughts that assaulted him, "You weren't responding and we were worried."_

_The Professor's grip on the chair never wavered, it only got tighter, "I saw chaos, but there was this presence. It was large and powerful. It felt like smoke...I couldn't breathe. It's like...something powerful woke up."_

_"What should we do?" Alex asked, eyes narrowing as if he was getting ready for a fight._

_"I have no idea."_

_Hank's face dropped in worry. He swallowed, but he was still feeling the aftershocks of one thought that nearly sent him sprawling._

**_I'm here now my children._ **

 

Erik raised an eyebrow, "So, Charles saw some weird and powerful presence in Cerebro?"

Hank nodded, "Yeah, but it didn't bother us...or him, for days. Not until Charles went to see Moira MacTaggert a few days later." Erik's eyes narrowed at the name, but Hank only continued quickly, "But, then it started getting worse."

 

_"Apocalypse?" Alex sounded as if he didn't believe was MacTaggert was saying, "You can't be serious. Some type of Mutant God that is the reason we're all here? Sorry, Moira, but the Prof's science explains it better."_

_Moira laughed, "I know, but I know what I saw in Cairo. A glowing pyramid and people praying to it...it only made sense. Thank you again for taking me to the mansion."_

_Charles, strangely enough, didn't say a thing. He just stared forward with the type of expression that always said, 'Leave-me-alone-I-am-thinking'. Alex rolled his eyes and continued driving, "Of course, no problem really. But, what else does it say this 'god' can do?"_

_"Control any power," Moira explained, quickly as if she was confronted with something she knew to be true but didn't believe in, "give power boosts to his four...horsemen. I know it sounds weird, but what if the thing in Cairo really is him?"_

_"Then," Alex grinned, "we'll be ready."_

_And with that, he pulled up to the house, where strange enough, Hank and Raven were waiting on the stairs. Hank smiled a greeting and so did Raven, but Moira's comment of 'never having been to the mansion before' made them stop. Alex made a discrete sign and mouthed some words about the Professor, wiping memories, and don't mention Cuba for god's sake. Alex quickly made his way to help Charles get out of the car._

_"Thank you, Alex." Charles said simply the second he was settled in his wheelchair, "Raven-no, Mystique, oh my. How good it is to see you."_

_She smiled. "You too, Charles."_

_There was an instant where Alex and Hank both carried Charles and his wheelchair up the stairs, but once he was settled, he simply said, "Come along, we have a lot of things to discuss."_

_Everyone followed the Professor wordlessly into the mansion. He waved his greeting to a few students and then slipped into his office, and once everyone was in, Hank shut the door. One quick explanation later, everyone was just staring at one another in silence. Until Mystique said grimly, "That's why I'm here."_

_"Why?"_

_"These earthquakes," Mystique breathed out, "they've been causing Mutant disturbances all around the world. Powers coming in randomly and mutating further. The other day I broke up a mutant fighting ring, but they had ten more kids with the same powers. It what you're saying is true, we're screwed."_

_Alex narrowed his eyes, "This doesn't sound good at all."_

_Charles looked up, a dark look in his eyes that seemed alien, "It isn't."_

 

Erik frowned, "So, this 'Apocalypse' creation, is real? And he's actually...'mutant god'?"

Mystique nodded, "It seems so, Erik."

"And, I'm Jewish." Erik chuckled with a roll of his eyes, but he sobered instantly, "Well, what does that have to do with Charles?"

Hank waved his hand at Mystique, giving her the 'Go-Ahead' to continue on where he left off. She nodded, "Well, it all started the day after Moira left..."

 

_Mystique opened the door of her guest bedroom to a very ruffled looking Hank. She blinked and raised an eyebrow, "Hank, what's wrong?"_

_"It's the Professor," he breathed shakily, he was the only one is the hallway and strange enough, no student had been woken up due to an earthquake or even another student's nightmare, "there's something wrong."_

_She blinked and let Hank lead her down the maze of hallways until they came to his study. It was at this time that she remembered the teacher's quarters were on the first floor so that explained why Hank was in his pajamas. He opened the door to reveal Charles, head resting on his arms and eyes closed as he slept peacefully. Mystique let out a breath and smiled, "He's just sleeping, Hank. He fell asleep at his desk all the time when we were Oxford."_

_"I know," Hank breathed slowly, eyes darting back and forth between the two, "but walk in there. He doesn't project his thoughts like this. He doesn't keep it to one room either. Rav-Mystique, something is wrong. It's just the same message over and over again."_

_Mystique frowned and stepped into the study only to be bombarded with the wave of thoughts that kept chanting, **No More False Gods**._

_She crept forward, ignoring the torrent that  nearly staggering. She placed a hand on Charles's shoulder and shook him, "Charles?"_

**_NoMoreFalseGodsNoMoreFalseGodsNoMoreFalseGods_ **

_"Charles?" She shook him harder, getting more worried the longer he didn't stir, "Charles?"_

_He shot up instantly and his eyes went wide. Sweat glistened against his face. He blinked his eyes and shook his head a few times as if trying to insert himself back into reality. After a few moments, he looked up at Mystique as if nothing was wrong, "What's wrong? Is it Jean?"_

_"No." She replied, "Are you okay? You were...projecting."_

_And that was it. It was the second Mystique knew something was terribly wrong. It was the way Charles's eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly...it was the way he paled in fear. It was the way his shaking hands suddenly went still. It was the way his mental presence disappeared. Mystique at that moment knew something was hurting her brother and it filled her with a rage like no other._

_But, the thing that made Mystique willing to tear into whatever was causing this was the way Charles breathed out in a voice she hadn't heard since she was little, "Oh my, I haven't done this in a while."_

 

 _"_ No more false gods," Erik said flatly as if he was testing their reactions to the phrase, but mostly he said to make sure he got it right. "What does that mean?"

Hank shook his head, "I don't know. None of us do. Charles didn't say anything. He said he was sick the following morning and had Mystique give an impromptu lesson. When I went to see how he was feeling at dinner, he didn't look to well. He looked like how he did before I gave him something to fix his spine, but that was years ago."

Mystique even narrowed her eyes at that comment and Erik sucked in a breath. So, Hank was the only one who knew the true extent of the reason that Charles had given up his powers ten years prior. He chuckled as if embarrassed, but explained anyway.

 

_Hank opened the door to Charles's room slowly. No student had been in the house, they were playing outside and some of the older ones were hearing recounts of Mystique's adventures or getting free rides from the teleporter, Kurt. Hank tiptoed in and closed the door behind him, "Professor?"_

_He frowned when he saw the way Charles was curled up on his side, legs splayed out uselessly but hands at his ears. Hank moved closer and his eyes quickly assessed the situation. Charles's eyes were scrunched in pain and the hands covering his ears had covered his ears but his fingers had pressed deep into his hair and Hank felt is stomach churn when he saw blood coating Charles's fingertips._

_"Professor?" Hank breathed out, almost afraid to touch him, but he swallowed the fear. He had been afraid to help the Professor once before and he had made a promise to himself to never leave his friend like that again. "Charles, it's me, Hank."_

_It was at this moment when Hank realized that he hadn't felt the Professor's mental presence at all that day. He abandoned all caution and simply, touched his hand to Charles's shoulder._

**_NoMoreFalseGods.WeakHaveInheritedTheEarth.ATelepathOfYourStrength?YouAreJustWhatI'veBeenWanting.NoMoreFalseGods.I'mHereNowMySon.NoMorePain.I'mHere._ **

_Hank woke up on the floor half an hour later. He sat up and blinked. His eyes widened once he realized that Charles had, indeed, rendered him unconscious. The Professor never used his powers for offense, so what was hurting the Professor much that he would?_

_The next morning, the Professor was fine. He wasn't shaking, he didn't seem skittish, hell, no one would have guessed that he had been sick the day before. Hank had told Mystique of what happened and she had nodded. Both were unsure of what to do. Until, they overheard a conversation just beyond the office doors._

_"Jean," Charles's voice sounded strong and no longer afraid, "can I help you with anything?"_

_"No at the moment," the girl replied, "but, I wanted to know, are you okay? You were sick yesterday and I barely felt you, now...you're everywhere."_

_"It's nothing. Telepaths get sick all the time." Charles explained and anyone could practically hear his smile, "I'm fine, I promise."_

_The student let out a sigh, "The earthquakes stopped."_

_"Yes, they have."_

_"Do you know the reason they did?"_

_"Not yet," Charles chuckled, "but I assure you, it's nothing to worry about."_

_"In my dream...the end of the world started with earthquakes."_

_"Well, it was just a dream, Jean."_

_"Okay, thank you, Professor." Jean said lightly, walking to the door and quickly opening, "See you later."_

_Mystique and Hank watched as the student walked away, red hair glowing in the half light. Hank frowned and eventually sighed, "Something is seriously wrong."_

_"I know," Mystique breathed, "but I don't know what to do."_

_And then, it was at that moment the two teachers saw Jean stop and turned back towards Charles's study. Her eyes were wide and after a few moments, the two teachers felt it as well. They stared in horror and at the moment, Jean sprinted back down the hallway towards the study. The feeling was like breathing in smoke. Burning, suffocating, and there was nothing you could do to stop it._

_The young telepath threw open the door with Hank's and they were all greeted with the sight of a strange blue figure and a dark-skinned girl with a crest of white hair next to him. They blue figure radiated power and everyone else felt quite small compared to him. The strange girl stared at them, a bored gleam in her eyes but she did nothing to stop them. Jean narrowed her eyes but nothing happened._

_"I can't get to them," She breathed, "they're shielded. We can't do anything."_

_And she was right. The two teachers felt as if they couldn't move. Mystique stared at the figure-no, Apocalypse-with an emotion between terror and rage. She was sure this was the 'mutant god' Moira had told them about. He simply held out his hand and stared at Charles, who stared up at him with a glazed over expression._

_Mystique shivered when she felt the mantra of **MyNameIsCharlesXavier.IWillNotBreak.MyNameIsCharlesXavier.IWillNotBreak** hit her painfully as if she was caught in a riptide. She couldn't do a thing. She wanted to help her brother, Hank wanted to save his friend, and Jean wanted to protect her Professor. And it was strange, the way Charles seemed to be at war with himself and finally, the days prior made sense. He had been fighting Apocalypse's influence off...and last night he hit his breaking point. _

_There was the sobering moment when Charles rested his hand in  Apocalypse's and Raven-she wasn't Mystique at that moment, a single movement had reduced a cold persona to a child wanting her big brother back-wanted to scream at him not to. And then, there was a flash of purple and they were gone._

_A single ghost of a thought echoed after them as the only indication they had ever been there in the first place._

**_I'veNeverFeltPowerLikeThisBefore._ **

 

Hearing that made Erik want to vomit, or tear Apocalypse to pieces. Anything to make him pay. Charles was the optimist, the teacher, and _nothing_ had the right of breaking him. Mystique looked up at him, blue eyes boring holes into him, "Please, Erik, will you help us?"

"Of course," He breathed, "where should we start?"

Hank sat up and he glanced back from where he had been piloting, "We're heading back to the school to get a plan going and then we're getting the Professor back."


	2. Chapter 2

Despite the rich air and welcoming atmosphere, Erik noticed how dead Charles's school had become. Children of all ages still roamed the lawns, but now, the games they played didn't happen as often or were as fun. Erik had never visited the school before, he had only made predictions on how it would be like and something told him that he ended up correct. It was like when Charles disappeared, he took the life of the campus with him. 

"Is it always this dead?" Erik asked anyway as he climbed the front steps, ignoring the nostalgia when he saw the building before him, "I thought this was a school."

Alex Summers had greeted them when they got off Hank's new Blackbird. The blonde simply shook his head and sighed, "No. They don't feel safe anymore. The younger kids kept having nightmares last night. It wasn't good and even the older kids are staying near the house. They miss the Prof."

Hank shoved his hands into his pockets and stared out into the surrounding lawns, looking for children. He counted a simple four and sighed. "I'm worried about what happens if we don't find Charles soon. He is the only reason the government doesn't have a hand in their educations."

Erik frowned deeply and felt the metal of his daughter's necklace hum in response, "Cerebro is out of the question, I take it?"

"Yes," Hank nodded, "even though we have other telepaths, Cerebro would easily overpower them. And they're kids anyway, it's best they don't know the extent of what is really going on."

"And yet, Charles is having you all teach them to use their powers." Erik chuckled lowly, the sound coming out humorless and bitter, "That is a good way to get loyalty and what is going to stop them from wanting to help get him back?"

"You yahoos could go all day, couldn't you?" Mystique snorted in laughter, "Come on, let's head inside. We need to draw up a game plan."

The strange group wasn't even in the door by the time they were bombarded by four other teenagers. The red headed one had stepped right up to Mystique and Hank, eyes wide as if she knew the extent of what was happening. Erik frowned. He knew this one to be Jean, just from the short hand description he had been given earlier before they landed. Erik just watched them as she said, "What did you guys find out?"

"Jean," Hank soothed, hands help up in a calming gesture, "do calm down. This is our friend, Erik. He's going to help us find Charles."

The girl's eyes were narrowed and suddenly, a boy behind her shot forward. He wore sunglasses despite the darkness of the interior and it only made Erik more confused. "Wait, wait. Hold on a freaking minute. You're Magneto. Why the hell would you help us?"

Erik raised an eyebrow and bit down on his tongue to avoid saying something he'd regret. Instead, the boy frowned as he felt all of the metal on his person begin to vibrate. "Yeah, I am, but that doesn't mean I won't help a friend."

Mystique grabbed is forearm and bit out, "All of you, Charles's study. Now."

The strange group filed into the study on Mystique's orders and once the doors had been firmly shut and locked, Alex let out a sigh. "Come on guys, I don't want this to turn into some fight. It was ten years ago, Erik's changed. Haven't you, Erik?"

He nodded and Hank let his shoulders sag. "There you go. Anyway, Erik. This is, Scott Summers," his finger pointed to the boy in the glasses, "Jean Gray," the girl with the red hair, "Kurt Wagner", the boy with blue skin and a tail, "and finally, Jubilee." and then his finger finally landed on a girl with dark hair. Hank swallowed quickly, "They make up our oldest students. They've been helping out since Charles...disappeared."

Scott snorted, "Oh please. The Prof was kidnapped. Don't beat around the bush."

The looks of annoyance, worry, and utter disagreement threatened to drown the boy but he didn't stop for a moment. Jean looked sad very suddenly and she finally sighed, "I've searched as far as I could for him and I didn't find anything."

"And there was nothing on your television!" Kurt spoke up, tail swishing behind him.

Alex reclined on the windowsill and let out a sigh, "So, they've disappeared then?"

"Seems like it." Mystique breathed, "But what do we do now? What ever Apocalypse is planning...he could drop it on us and we wouldn't be ready. If we want to find Charles, we have to find him. So, how do we do that?"

And it was just like that, Erik found all of the eyes on the room on him. He swallowed. So, his placement of leader was a unanimous decision then. "We wait."

* * *

_Caliban's place had always been cold due to the fact it was little more than an underground hovel. The place was strangely empty, all of Caliban's 'employees' had disappeared in their various missions to rescue enslaved mutants, while all of the mutants that had been rescued disappeared to various places in their attempts to start new lives. It was all a very simple set up if a person looked hard enough._

_"Oh my," Caliban's voice drifted in from the other room and Psylocke-she had long ago abandoned her other human name since she really didn't need it anymore-perked up, "I don't think I've ever seen you around Caliban's. Are you here to escape or rescue?"_

_And suddenly an English-accented voice broke the suddenly thick silence, "Oh no, we're looking for someone here."_

_Psylocke froze. She knew that voice. She knew that voice, well. She had seen countless broadcasts of debates with the Mutant Activist. He was famous all over the world, especially to mutants who needed hope when they had none. But, what the hell was Charles Xavier doing in a place like this?_

_Caliban chuckled, "I don't think you'll be finding anyone you know here, Professor Xavier. Caliban knows these things."_

_She took the turn to make herself known and exited the back room with a hand on her sword. "Something wrong?" She didn't bother listening to Caliban's mutterings of 'no, nothing is wrong', instead she stared straight at Xavier. He seemed...different than how he appeared on television. He wasn't wearing a suit, instead, he wore black with silver, metal platings. His hair had been slicked back and the superior expression looked downright alien. But the one thing that made Psylocke look again was the fact he was standing._

_"I don't think I can be called a Professor, anymore," Xavier chuckled quite suddenly, "but do tell me, Psylocke, why so tense?"_

_Caliban went to open his mouth and say something, but Xavier's blue gaze simply snapped to Caliban and he snarled, " **Quiet.** " with such an intensity that Caliban found himself being unable to speak. Psylocke was impressed since not many people could get Caliban to shut his mouth. But that's when she noticed the two other figures joining him. A dark-skinned girl with a white crest of hair bumped her fist against Charles's in a sign of mutual friendship. _

_The other figure lifted his hood to reveal blue skin and dark eyes. He tutted a rebuke at Charles, "Now, now, Charles. We don't want to be rude to our own kind."_

_And then, Caliban was able to speak but he chose not to. The blue man took a step forward and Psylocke held out her real sword to Xavier and the girl, while a blade of purple energy threatened to slice into the other man's neck._

_"Why are you here?" She demanded._

_"To find those of power," the man stated, "to find the best. I am here to change the world and I want you to help me with it. And when the world is changed for the better and all the weakness had been cleansed, we could live as gods and goddesses."_

_Psylocke forced herself not to snort with laughter. It sounded ridiculous! The guy was obviously crazy and so was the chick following him, but what about Xavier? He always seemed to be so level-headed and optimistic. But that's when she felt a cold presence claw up her spine...and suddenly. The man-no, Apocalypse, she knew him now-made so much sense. As a new sense of power curled into her being, she never once considered something wrong with the way Xavier was grinning as if he had been caught red-handed._

 

And Jean woke up screaming. 

She shot up with wide eyes, only to find that strong hands had stopped her. She was shaking and sweating and trembling and so, so _afraid_. She could feel it, that sickening presence curling under her skin, crawling on her back, suffocating her mind. She glanced up to see a worried Erik sitting on her bed, brow furrowed with an equally worried Mr. McCoy behind him. 

"What did you see?" Erik breathed, "What did you see?"

"They h-have three," Jean babbled, her eyes wide as her senses tried to catch up to what her telepathy caught onto, "they found another m-mutant to join them. Oh god. Oh, my god. It's the Professor."

Mr. McCoy physically paled and gaped, "What do you mean?"

"He's one of them. But it's not him. He's gone. It's not our Professor. Our Professor is dead." Jean babbled, "He wasn't there. It was only Apocalypse. Oh god."

Erik gritted his teeth and finally shook the girl lightly, not enough to traumatize the girl further but just enough to make her look at him and only him. "Jean. I want you to look at me. Explain as best as you can. Okay?" Jean deftly nodded, it was strange to hear the way the elder man talked as if he had been a father, "What happened?"

Jean blinked and the words tumbled out of her mouth, "I felt them. I think my telepathy latched on to them or something...but, the Professor was there. He wasn't himself. His mind wasn't warm or kind, it was blank and cold. I couldn't reach it. He's controlling their newest recruit."

The only non-teacher sat back and his eyes widened as if he couldn't believe it. Jean frowned when she felt the brush of _Charles,WhatHasHeDoneToYou?_ Jean shivered at the thoughts because it wasn't just panic or sadness or even confusion. It was pain and anger and the worst kind of sadness thrown into one razor-sharp edge. And the thoughts continued like a mantra. They didn't stop. 

And Jean knew they wouldn't. Not until they had rescued the Professor...or died trying.

* * *

 

Storm didn't know what to think of Xavier. She had known him longer than Psylocke, but she still didn't know what to think of him. She had been there when he finally succumbed to Apocalypse's power, but even then, she didn't know what to think. She had seen both the scared man in a wheelchair and the cold horseman. It was like seeing two sides of a coin in a matter of hours. 

"You're afraid of me." Xavier spoke flatly and nonchalantly as he leaned against a wall, eyes staring at Storm as she sat on a wooden box in Caliban's place of business, "I can feel it. Right there. It's at the front of your mind."

"I know you're a telepath and all," she said simply, "but do stay out of my head."

He only grinned. Once, his smile would have been warmth and filled with kindness, but now it was a cold and twisted type of thing. The thing that only a broken man uses. "Oh, apologies then. I didn't know 'Mutant and Proud' only extends to those who can't invade privacy." His voice sounded bitter and angry as if he had thought something like that for years, but then, the expression was gone and he seemed actually...confused that he had said it. "Oh, that was rude wasn't it?"

And, with that, she broke down and finally breathed the question that had been plaguing her mind since Apocalypse had healed him, "Are you okay?"

He blinked at the question and at that moment, Storm saw something she never expected to see. She saw fear. She saw the type of fear that made a child hide away or a man never do something, she saw the type of fear that made her join Apocalypse in the first place. And then, she finally saw it. After the fear, she noticed the way his eyes widened and the dark blue of his eyes lightened. 

He was confused.

Not the type of confusion that a person would have at her question, but it was the type of confusion that only held room for one thought. _What am I doing?_ And then Storm felt a cold feeling tear across her mind. Xavier straightened and he blinked and suddenly, his eyes were black. The look of confusion dropped and was replaced with the usual smugness. And the inky color was gone as soon as it had come.

And suddenly, something tore up her spine and she knew she wasn't supposed to ask that anymore. He was fine. She was fine. They. Were. All. **Fine**.

Storm blinked and finally sighed. She hopped off the crate and marched straight up to Xavier. She extended a hand and introduced herself. He shook it and introduced himself. Ororo and Charles. And that's what they'd call one another. Ororo and Charles. Storm and Xavier. Two friends at the end of the world. Two people who were drowning in choices and power. Ororo and Charles. 

And even as Psylocke returned with Apocalypse, the two proclaiming that they have found the final horseman, Ororo stood near Charles. The thought had quickly turned into an underlying mantra. And it seemingly joined the others.

And, Ororo was let in and she finally heard it.

 **OroroAndCharles**.MyNameIsCharlesXavier.NoMoreFalseGods. _OroroAndCharles_.WhatAmIDoing? **NoMoreFalseGods**.OroroAndCharles.SomeoneHelpMe.OroroAndCharles.

But, Storm blinked once and shook it off. Xavier straightened next to her. After all, there was work to be done.

* * *

 

After last night, the school seemed dimmer...somehow. Erik was sitting on Charles's desk, face buried in his hands while Mystique and Hank just sat in the two chairs facing him. Alex, on the other hand, was at his usual perch by the windowsill. They were at a loss. The students had been given a free day since it was the weekend, but very few left the sights of the house. There was always the silent warning passed among the gazes of every student there, it was one of caution.

They took the Professor and they could take you.

Erik finally looked up and breathed out, "What are we going to do?"

He was getting so sick and tired of silence, but he couldn't help the fact it was the only answer. After a few minutes, Mystique breathed out, "There haven't been earthquakes. And there haven't been any mass human exterminations or even large scale property damage. All we have is the fact that they're...recruiting."

"Four horsemen," Alex grumbled from his perch. He blinked when he saw all of the gazes on him. "Moira said that he always had four followers that he gave huge ass power boosts to. So, as far as we know, they have three. The chick with the white hair, the Prof, and the other chick with the sword. They're missing the fourth."

Hank suddenly sat back and he sighed, "You know what I don't get? Charles is a strong telepath, sure, but why take him to be a horseman? His powers could be used for offense, but, what good would they be if we all had something like Erik's helmet? Then he'd be useless. Even if Apocalypse gave him his legs back and he had some combat training, he'd still be useless."

Mystique raised her eyebrows as she frowned, "He does have a point. It would've made a lot more sense to get someone like Erik. I mean, imagine the damage he could do."

After a few moments, Hank simply looked at all of them and breathed out, "Didn't Moira mention something about a 'transcendence'? Like Apocalypse taking over another body to get more powers? What if that's what Charles is going to do? I know it's a long shot but...it makes sense."

"Then why wouldn't they have done it already?" Mystique asked, not trying to be sarcastic, "I think...Apocalypse is waiting for something."

Alex shrugged, showing his mutual agreement, but eventually after more silence filled minutes, he snapped. He tore a hand through his hair. "I can't do this. I can't just sit here! How can any of you? The Prof is our friend for god's sake! He taught us how to use our powers. Hell, he's your brother Mystique! And look at us, we can't even save him. Look at us. Some X-Men we turned out to be."

"Alex!" Mystique suddenly hissed, for a moment, her blue eyes flashed gold before turning back, "Don't say that!"

And then, Erik sat back and pointed at Alex. "He's...got a point."

"What?" It was Hank's turn to stare at the metal bender with wide eyes, "How?"

Erik couldn't stop smiling. It was nearly hysterical, but overall, he found how helpless their situation to be...quite _hilarious_. "Look at us, really look. We all want Charles back and we can't do a thing because _he_ usually has the ideas." Erik couldn't stop the words now, they were tumbling out. All of his pent of rage and aggression were spilling out and he couldn't stop the tide. "We're lost without him. Just admit it. Look at what we did without him! I left him paralyzed on a beach in Cuba, Raven- _no, don't even correct me-_ nearly killed a man, and Hank enabled his drug use. He's our friend for god's sake! He helped us so much and what have we done to repay him? Nothing. And now...he needs our help and we're useless."

And the room went silent. Hank looked very small and very sad, while Mystique just looked as if she was fighting the urge to cry as Erik's hurtful but true words sunk in fully. No one said a thing. They just stared at one another, trying to find words but failing, but then, there was a puff of smoke and the scent of sulfur. They all whipped around to find a very scared looking Kurt in front of them.

"Kurt," Mystique breathed, seeing the boys fear and becoming quite concerned, "what's wrong?"

The teleporter blinked and swallowed, his tail was a twitching mess at his feet. "The television. You have to look at the television!"

He was gone before anyone could question, but it really didn't matter. Everyone was sprinting after the boy. They soon found themselves in the entertainment room where children were gathered around the television set where a news broadcast was playing. Erik gasped. 

 _"Mass hysteria in large parts of Germany."_ The news reporter rattled off, _"Riots have broken out across the country. People have checked themselves into local hospitals reporting hallucinations and pain. Scientists believe is has to do with a tainted water supply and, oh, we have a live feed coming in."_

The screen changed to show a woman standing in front of a crowd of people holding fire and shouting. Erik let out a shaky breath once he saw the panic, _"I'm here is West Germany where riots have broken out on a large scale. The people here are terrified and they're fighting with the police, so far the police have been able to contain many protestors. It is believed to be a protest again the United States's and Soviet Union's actions in recent years, but it is still too early to tell. Mutants and humans seem to have taken part in-"_ And then the screen exploded into action. A bottle was thrown and suddenly, the reported was engulfed in flames and _screaming_. And then the footage stopped.

The broadcast cut back to a terrified looking newscaster. Some of the younger children who were watching were shaking and holding onto others, but one of the older ones, Jubilee, turned the sound off on the television. She was pale and looked rattled but eventually mustered a smile, "How about this...who wants to see a fireworks show?! I was saving this for the Prof's birthday, but what the heck! Let's go have a party!"

It took a moment for the kids to realize what she was offering and when they did, there was nothing but cheers and happy squeals. Erik felt himself smile despite the clenching feeling in his chest. His gaze met Jubilee's and the two nodded at one another, a sign of mutual agreement for Jubilee to care for the children as best as she could. The girl was practically dragged out by excited children and once they were gone, the room was quiet.

Jean looked up from her spot on the couch. She was pale. "Please tell me you don't think..."

"You're the mind reader." Scott snapped back suddenly, his hands were shaking with something akin to fear, "What do _you_ think?"

The two were caught in a glaring match before Erik finally snapped. "Stop it. Act your damn age!"

Someone would've said something else, but their gazes went back to the silent television. The screen had changed to a simple map of Germany where the riots had been marked. Erik swallowed and his eyes went wide. Mystique's blonde hair suddenly turned a shade of strawberry blonde, while Hank only gripped the couch tighter. Alex looked like he was about to be sick. 

And suddenly, a new voice spoke up from behind them. "Dude, what's with the X over Germany?"

Heads turned so fast if it had been even a bit faster, their necks would've broken. Hank blinked and his gaze warmed with recognition at the newcomer with an iconic head of silver hair and goggles, "Peter? What are you doing here?"

* * *

 

"An X?" Psylocke rolled her eyes when she saw Xavier open his eyes, "Really?"

He bared his perfectly sharp white teeth in a smile, "Of course, the other mutants who will try to stop us need to know who did it, don't you think? Besides, I was to, well, make a distraction so _I made a distraction_."

The cold wind that bit into them wasn't stopped by the barn they stood in front of. Psylocke tossed her head in the direction of the doors and watched as Storm simply waved a hand. The wind picked up and suddenly, the door burst open. The four of them simply entered and Xavier simply rolled his eyes at the rock music that threatened to make them deaf. 

"Well," Psylocke frowned, looking up at the figure in the rafters, "he's there."

A bottle was thrown and it shattered against the dust at their feet. Apocalypse kept staring upwards while Xavier looked upwards and his eyes narrowed. Psylocke suddenly felt the command of **"Stop being rude."** tear across her mind. And then, she didn't feel so snappish anymore. Apocalypse held out a hand and Xavier deflated, but that didn't stop the winged figure from gliding down from the rafters. 

Psylocke gaped at his left wing...or, what was left of it. The white feathers were signed black and charred remains of bone and muscle were visible. She would've gagged had she not suffered electrical burns herself. Warren, or 'Angel' as he preferred, took another drink of his scotch in an effort to numb the pain. He glared at them and spat suddenly, "What the hell do you want?"

"Come on," Psylocke bit out, "he's useless with that wing." Angel snorted and turned sharply, staggering as he walked away, "Let's get out of here and find someone else. There are still plenty of mutants in the world."

"Oh no," Apocalypse breathed, he held out his hand towards Angel's exposed back and his eyes turned white, "there is still much for him to do."

And, there was a moment of pure stillness before Angel collapsed into a writhing pile of limbs. And then, he started screaming. Not the type that someone would think of when they're in pain, but it was the type of screaming that came from below. The type that made you lose your breath and catch your breath all while never stopping. It was a sound of guttural pain and it was a sound that _nothing_ should have to make.

Psylocke felt sick and glanced away, only to see that Storm had averted her gaze as well. But when she turned towards Xavier, she saw that he hadn't moved. His expression hadn't even changed. He just stared at the writhing and screaming _boy_ with apathy. Pure apathy. It was at that moment that Psylocke remembered that Xavier was a Professor who taught _children_. She really couldn't tell at this point what was truly the Professor she had respected or the horseman Apocalypse needed. 

 **I'm me and you're you. Don't worry.** Psylocke froze once she felt Xavier's mind tear into her's, the words he projected made her believe that he did teach children, but what came next made her freeze, **The Ends Always Justify The Means.**

The woman felt suddenly calm and found that she was able to stomach what was happening to Angel. She saw the way his ribs tore from his skin and the way flesh was replaced with sharpened metal. It didn't bother her anymore, but there was the only the small burning sensation of _NoThisIsWrongNoThisIsWrongNOThisIsWrong_  before it was snuffed out and replaced with an ice cold calmness. 

At this point, it was hard to tell where Xavier ended and where Apocalypse started. 

She was aware of Angel standing, wings flexing and sending sharpened feathers into the walls at his sides. Apocalypse nodded and Storm smirked. Psylocke blinked and nodded as well. But, at that moment, she was aware of one thing only. Xavier would always be Xavier to her, never Charles because if a person wasn't acting like themselves, what was the point of calling them by their first name?

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the wonderful feedback! It really means a lot :)
> 
> So a bit of warning on this chapter:  
> I was really bothered by the fact they had Nightcrawler in the movie but never mentioned that Mystique was his mother, even though they drilled the fact that Magneto was Quicksilver's father into you. So, I'm planning that to be a plot element here along with Quicksilver actually telling Magneto their relationship! 
> 
> We're so close to the actual war now!

Erik thought it slightly amusing the way a boy wearing a leather jacket and sporting a head of silver hair made him flashback to a time ten years prior. He vaguely remembered the boy from his Pentagon Prison Break, but it all blurred together when he remembered that the boy had saved his life, twice in the course of ten minutes within meeting him and then he never heard or spoke to him again in ten years. A small grin curled up on his lips. 

Peter shrugged, "Eh. Guess I got tired of living in my mom's basement, ya know? So, I thought I'd hit this place up and see what it's all about." 

Hank laughed lightly, "Good to see you, Peter. If you're looking for the Professor...he's not here."

"I could tell that," the boy blinked, bouncing on his heels as if he needed to be moving or if he was itching to run, "so, I want to help. I've heard about the mess with the earthquakes so I figured it was something mutant related. And now there's a big ol' X over Germany! I guess I showed up right on time!"

There was a blur of movement and gust of wind and suddenly, Peter was sitting in a chair on the other end of the room. The remaining students gaped at the boy's speed but said nothing. Mystique blinked, "You want to help? You don't even know what you're getting into."

"Anything beats sitting in my mom's base-" He cut himself off the second he saw Erik. Soon enough, all of the eyes were on Erik, but he was just as surprised as they were. "Oh, um, it's nothing. I...just, uh, didn't expect to see you again, man!"

Erik blinked, smiled in a confused way and nodded, "Me too."

Hank glanced in between the two and finally said, "Okay then. So, Peter here's what's happened..." After the quickest recap a person could give without skipping any important details, Peter was all caught up. The boy just looked even more confused and Hank just sighed, "I know, it sounds really bad...but, if you're willing to help Peter, we'd love it."

"Like hell, I'm backing out now!" He cackled, "This sounds awesome! Mutants versus mutant god. Dude, I feel like I could write this down and turn it into a comic franchise. Do you think Marvel would like the idea?"

Mystique rolled her eyes and laughed, "Yeah probably, but we'd probably get stuck with some sucky movie trilogy no one talks about."

There was laughter despite the tension growing in the room, but no one wanted to address it at the moment. They could hear the explosions from Jubilee's fireworks show as well but despite it, the school seemed dreadfully dull. After a few moments of awkward silence, Alex stood, "Come on guys, let's go catch some fresh air or something. We can think of what to do in a minute...but, let's just let it sink in."

It was strange, the way Alex just walked out and after a few moments, the others began to trickle out. No doubt that they were going to watch an impromptu fireworks display, but soon enough, it was just Erik and Mystique left in the entertainment room. The two were silent and they just listened to the growing sounds of explosions and awe. Eventually, Erik broke the silence. 

"He looks like Azazel, you know." Erik said to no one in particular. Mystique flinched at the name of the now deceased teleporter. There was no doubt who he was talking about now. "Do you think you'll ever tell him? He has a right to know."

She shook her head and finally, sighed, "He survived almost twenty years without me. No need to come into his life now."

"Every child needs a parent," Erik bit out, "my daughter did and Kurt will need one too. Don't worry, I think he'd love having his mother be the hero behind M-Day."

Mystique smiled, whether in sadness or actual joy, Erik didn't know. "Okay that does it then, why hasn't anyone freaked out on you for trying to kill Nixon? Let's be real here for a moment. I mean, Charles will probably freak out on you for _dropping a stadium on him_ and maybe Hank eventually for trying to kill him, but why hasn't anyone let you have it?"

"No clue." Erik shrugged and then, after a minute of silence, he started laughing. Actual laughter. The type he hadn't used since before his family died...and that was almost a month ago. After a while, Mystique joined in too. And the two just sat there, laughing with no care in the world as if their past altercations meant nothing, as if the world wasn't on the verge of ending. It took a few minutes for him to sober, but eventually, he just sat back and sighed, "I missed this, you know?"

"Me or the house?"

"Everything. No worries, freedom, actual friends." Erik confessed, he didn't know why he was saying these things or even what the point of it was. He just felt he needed to say it, "I think that when we get Charles back and everything goes back to normal...I'm going to stay. I think I owe it to him."

Mystique looked up at him and suddenly smiled, a true Raven smile that made him feel the nostalgia of the sixties, "You're getting sentimental in your old age, Erik."

"I know." Erik breathed out, not catching the grin that had crept across his face, but it was wiped away in a moment, "I know you've been thinking about it, too. Not the staying, but a way to end this."

"I have to keep my options open," Mystique breathed suddenly, eyes narrowing and her expression going cold, "and if killing Charles to save the world does that, then I have to consider it. You admitted to thinking it too."

"I don't want to do it-"

"No one does," she growled suddenly, blue eyes flashing, "but, Erik, you already know you're the only one who could get close enough. When I say 'we have to kill Charles', I'm meaning you do. You're the only person who loves him enough."

Years ago, Erik would've blushed and claimed that he never loved the telepath, but now, he didn't care. Mystique knew him before and after his ascension to Magneto, so she knew how he acted. And when he was around Charles, it was different than the way he ever acted around her. He could fight his feelings as much as he liked, but denying them would get him nowhere.

* * *

 

"My children," Apocalypse announced suddenly, arms reaching out as if he was going to embrace each one of the horsemen, "the time has come. No more false gods. No more super powers. No. More. Humanity. We will be free and you, my sons and daughters, will finally live in the world you were born for."

The reactions to his words all differed because despite being controlled by the same power, their personalities were all different.

Storm smirked and nodded. She had been promised a world where she would never have to steal again. A world where she would never starve. A world where she would actually have a family and a bed to sleep in. She wouldn't be a thief anymore, she'd be a goddess. 

Angel nodded, face remaining impassive. He had been promised a world of equality and he wouldn't be forced into a cage match just for having wings. He'd be able to fly free without people pointing and staring, without people calling him a bastardization of a deity he had lost all belief in. He could live in peace. No more fighting to stay alive. In the world he had been promised, humans would fight so _he'd_ let them live and it would all come full circle. 

Psylocke didn't move at all. She had been promised a world where she held the power in her life and no longer bent to anyone's will just to avoid punishment. She would no longer be a simple mercenary for hire, she'd finally be free. She'd finally be a goddess. She'd finally have actual friends. She would never be at the mercy of anyone else again, she could be herself and make sure no one ever walked all over her ever again. 

Xavier hadn't even bothered looking at Apocalypse, he had known what the god was going to say before he even said it. A simple power of telepathy. He knew what they were all thinking. He knew what _everyone_ was thinking. He had been promised a world of equality. A world where his pain finally ended. A world where he could finally make everyone safe. A world where his teaching didn't just extend to a handful of mutants in a corner of the world, he could teach everyone. He could be a kind man without ever being hurt again. 

Apocalypse continued, the city of Cairo glowed in the moonlight behind him and the air was cold, "Here shall be out Tower of Babel. Where our powers, our gifts, our language will scatter across the world and finally, everything will share a common tongue. Humanity will be gone, wiped out and we shall rise. Taking our earth as it was intended. Everything they've built will fall and from the ashes of their world, we will build a better one."

"They're planning to stop us." Xavier said suddenly, his expression darkening despite his comment being directed at no one, "They'll lead an army and they'll fight to the death. Mutants fighting mutants at the end of the world. They won't stop. They. Will. Never. Stop."

"Who?" Angel demanded, the metal of his wings clanged together in a haunting symphony as if he was getting ready to fly to war, "Why would mutants want to stop this?"

Xavier grinned wide and feral, "My old students. They'll armor themselves with my words as their gospel and lead a crusade against us. How ironic. I wish I taught something different."

Psylocke rested a hand on her sword and spoke darkly, her tone matching Xavier's word for word, "We'll be ready and we'll stop anyone who gets in our way."

"My Pestilence," Apocalypse breathed, holding out a hand towards Psylocke, "you are right. We shall be ready and their false gods will fall. I will keep my promises. No more super powers."

Storm looked up as Apocalypse and blinked, "What are you planning to do?"

"You could cause a famine and Angel a war," Apocalypse breathed out, his gaze slid over to Xavier, "but I know how to cause death. And our time of hiding has come to an end, let humanity know it is their final days. Let my message speak a common tongue across the world."

And when Xavier looked over to Apocalypse there was smirk playing on his face and his eyes were black.

* * *

 

Erik and Mystique had eventually made their way outside to join in on watching Jubilee's show. Despite Erik never celebrating July fourth, he could see why the children loved that night. The colors that the fireworks dispersed into made everyone stare upwards and finally forget the stress they had accumulated, only if it was for a short time. Erik let out a long and steady breath as he leaned against a tree, watching the explosions of color against a blue sky. 

And then, Jubilee faltered and her eyes widened. Erik didn't catch it at first, but the way the children suddenly started covering their ears and looking around in horror made him instinctively reach out towards all metal. Despite their pleas for it to stop, the physical silence was over bearing. Erik let out a shaky breath when he felt something batter against his mental shields before they finally gave way and shattered.

**"I come with a warning to every man, woman, and child,"**

Erik shivered at the voice. He knew it was Charles. He knew that British accent anywhere, but what he didn't care for was the way another voice spoke with him, drowning him out. There was no other person that the voice could belong to except Apocalypse. 

**"humanity's time has come to an end. Your buildings, your monuments, they will fall. There will be nothing left."**

Apocalypse's voice had effectively drowned out Charles and the children continued their begging, their _screaming_ for it to stop. Erik wanted to find this _thing_ and tear it to pieces. No child should ever have to scream like that. 

**"I have come to say that to those of you with power, your world will be ready soon. No more hiding."**

Erik looked down when he felt the earth beneath his feet begin to shake. The children looked skyward and eventually, so did Erik. And that's when he felt it. The humming of metal, the curved design of a missile. He blinked. These weren't anything like the missiles he had stopped in Cuba. These were so much more. These could cause the end of the world. And then, there was a trail of gray smoke as the missiles launched into the air. 

Despite the message pounding through the world's head, Erik breathed out, "Oh my god."

**"Humanity's superpowers will fall. Their swords, their slings will disappear. They thought they could strike me down from their Towers of Babel, but they can never strike God."**

The missiles were too high to come back down. Erik knew that. He felt sick and from the looks of the others, so did they. Apocalypse had effectively gotten rid of the only weapons that could've stood a chance. No more nuclear missiles. And he had also given the world his message. There was no going back now. 

**"To those with power, it's time to be free. And to those who are the strongest..."**

Erik blinked and his eyes went wide as Apocalypse trailed off. Any other person would've thought it was for dramatic effect, but Erik knew better. He knew Charles was fighting it somewhere deep down, trying to change the message. Trying to stop this. Erik swallowed down the bile rising in his throat. He could hear it. The mantra. Charles's last line of defense. _OroroAndCharles.MyNameIsCharlesXavier.IWillNotBreak.ThisIsn'tTheWay.Someone.Anyone.OhGod.SomeoneHelpMePlease!ICan'tHoldOnForever.OroroAndCharles._

And Erik heard, no _felt_ , the moment the mantra broke. 

**"this world is ours!"**

There was silence. And it was no longer blissful. So, standing under a gray-streaked sky, Erik wondered if the mantra had been real at all.

* * *

 

The horsemen had seen the moment Xavier had stopped, the moment where he paused deliverance. Any one of them could've seen that Charles was fighting, any one of them could've used the moment to break free...but, none of them did. After Apocalypse finished his message to the world, he stared at Xavier with a look that spoke of annoyance, anger, and something akin satisfaction. He didn't seem at all concerned with the way his horseman had turned a sickly gray color, or the way he was trembling uncontrollably. Instead, he simply turned around.

The god stalked to the edge of the cliff overlooking Cairo and simply stared down at his domain. Ignoring the world as he gathered his thought. Storm, on the other hand, had darted over to Charles and sat next to him. She placed a hand on his and whispered something no one else was to hear. Psylocke narrowed her eyes at the two. Their relationship was strange, nothing of romance, just a friendship kindling in a forest fire. Psylocke knew that if Apocalypse didn't like it, he could've destroyed it like he destroyed Xavier's resistance, and effectively, their's.

So, she threw caution to the wind and walked over to them. She knew that if-no, **when** -their new world came along, they'd be the only people she'd stand as gods with. So, she decided she might as well try to act friendly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Xavier bit out, he kept blinking, eyes always switching between their usual blue and that black Psylocke was beginning to hate-no, **deal with** , "it's...nothing. I'll be fine. I've never...done anything like that."

Storm glanced over to Apocalypse and let her shoulders sag, "We're almost there. Our promises are almost fulfilled."

"It'll be so rewarding," Angel spoke up, he sat on a rock a few feet higher, "the war will be worth it."

Psylocke just sat and set her sword down. She let out a sigh. Even if their world didn't become reality, there was no going back. They had all stood with Apocalypse and now, it had been proclaimed to the world. They'd be hunted down if it failed. But, she **Knew. It. Wasn't. Going. To.**

It was at that moment that Apocalypse turned back towards them. They all looked at him the second he called for attention. "The dawn is coming soon. Our war begins then and you all have an important part to play. A storm will watch over the skies, an angel will keep the pace, and pestilence will build through destruction. Our world will finally be the way it was to be."

Xavier looked up, eyes brightening into their natural blue. He had stopped shaking but, under that dead gaze, there was something flickering. And it was refusing to die out, it was refusing to stop. "What about me?"

Apocalypse grinned and it was something awful, "Why, you'll play the most important part."


	4. Chapter 4

To say that the campus fell into chaos after Apocalypse's message finished was definitely an understatement. It took a few moments, but eventually, the terror fueled silence was shattered by a single sound. A child, a girl of not even six, started to cry. It was a soft sound, all sniffling, and hiccups. The elder children seemed at a loss as another child, this time, a boy of nine, began to cry as well. Erik gritted his teeth.

As a father, he couldn't just sit there and let it happen. 

So, he stood up and marched over to the girl and boy. They looked up, fear covering their faces and Erik frowned when he realized. They were scared of _him_. He knelt down, a small and as friendly as possible grin appearing on his face. He took both of his hands and simply, plopped them down on the children's hair. They blinked at him, eyes red from crying, but they didn't stop.

"Hey, there's no need for that, okay?" He soothed, voice slipping into the same tone he'd use to calm Nina after she woke from a nightmare, "Everything is going to be alright. You hear me? It's going to get better. I promise."

The little boy looked up at him and swallowed, all before nodding. Though, years of practice made Erik able to catch the little girl as she threw herself at him. To anyone else, it would have been a strange sight. Magneto, the man who had once been ready to cause the pain the had been done unto him, was comforting a crying child. Mystique smiled and she cast a sideways glance over at Peter, who had a strange look on his face.

But, that was the moment Jean suddenly straightened. 

If it had bene anyone else, no one would have cared, but when a telepath perked up with a look of horror on their face...well, anyone would be able to know something was wrong. Her eyes widened comically and Scott asked, "What's wrong?"

The girl breathed out shakily and she looked skyward. Erik never did because he felt something higher up in the sky. It was sleek, a type of metal that he wasn't really able to grasp, and moving fast...and going straight for them. He swallowed when he realized what it was. 

"Everyone, run!" Erik screamed, but the missile at that moment chose to arc towards them at that moment. There was no way to escape it. But, no one noticed the way Peter casually slipped his goggles on and secured his headphones.

* * *

 

It was still hours until dawn and strange enough, everything seemed peaceful. The stars were all visible above and twinkling away as if what happened now wouldn't concern them, but Charles knew better. He could feel it. Once Apocalypse was done here, he'd cast his influence out until there was nothing left. Nothing left but him and his children. In another life, he would've been disgusted for having a hand in the end of the world...but, now, Charles couldn't think of a reason he didn't want it.

The term 'end of the world' set his teeth on edge, the same way his teeth would ache at high pitched sounds. Almost as if his bones were telling something was so utterly wrong. If he had been another man or himself from the week previous, he would've screamed and clawed in hopes for this to stop. Though, he knew any effort of resistance would be snuffed out like a candle flame. 

But now, Charles stared out at the other horsemen. Ororo- **Storm**  was curled up on the rocks a few feet away, using her cape as a pillow. He felt a twinge when he remembered that she couldn't have been older than Jean. She slept soundly, the cool breeze tossed her bleached hair, but other than that, she seemed almost like a statue. A thing that didn't move, a thing that wasn't alive. 

Psylocke just stared out into the horizon. Charles knew her thoughts, he controlled them. She didn't- **couldn't** think of running away. Instead, she imagined her future. If she had never met Charles, she would've done what she pleased. Charles blinked, he thought it interesting the way his own powers could completely control another person. A twist there, a feeling here, an agonizing feeling **everywhere**.  Apocalypse spoke of a future, Psylocke thought of nothing. 

Warren- **Angel** didn't need as much persuasion as the others. Charles had had a vice-like grip on the boy's thought since the first time they met. He was broken and it made Angel hateful. So, Charles simply took the sharpened pieces of his psyche and put them back together with a message from a god. Charles had used the hate inside to break and reshape. Together, the telepath and the god had created a perfect little monster. All sharp teeth and razor-edged feathers.

Charles. Charles couldn't tell what he was anymore. Weeks ago he would never have taken a life or even used his powers to cause violence. Now, he had caused riots- **93** and now carried a death total- **129**. Ever since he was a boy he wondered what his telepathy had been capable of, but now he knew what it could do. Apocalypse knew. The world knew.

He could feel everything and everyone. 

_StephanieNeedsARideHome. **No.** ChristopherIsWonderingWhenHisDadIsGettingBack. **More.** AlexieIsTiredOfTheRussianWinter. **False.** LoganWantsToSeeTheSunlight. **Gods.** QuentinIsWonderingWhyTheBigBadVoiceSaidThoseThings. **No.** EmilyIsPrayingTheWorldDoesn'tEndTomorrow. **More.** ErikWantsHisFamily. **False.**  BillJustDestroyedAMansion.  **Gods.**_

Charles couldn't stop the voices. And _God_ he wanted to. 

On the outside, he was Charles Xavier.

On the inside, he was everyone.

And soon, Apocalypse was going to destroy both.

* * *

 

Erik had prepared himself for a quick death, but he just _blinked_ and suddenly the heat of the explosion was blistering across his face. He blinked, staring at the mansion, or what was left of it. Charles's home and school had become little more than a flaming piece of wreckage at this point. He looked over to the others, they were all watching in horror as the mansion burned. Peter lifted the goggles from his eyes and blinked, "Did I get everyone?"

There was true fear in that question. A fear that overturned Erik's fear for his own life. Peter seemed to be doing a headcount, but asked again, "Did I get everyone?"

"Everyone's here!" Hank called, he was looking for injuries and when he found none, he clapped the silver-haired man on the back, "And no one's hurt. Peter, that was amazing!"

"What the hell was that?" Alex spat, anger taking over his senses. "Who blew up the school? There. Are. Children. Here."

No one had an answer. Jean, in all of her kindness, went to open her mouth to give an answer she found telepathically but she and everyone else was cut off by the sound of whirring helicopter blades. Erik could feel the metal. And he reached out to it, allowing it to tell him what it was. It was a military helicopter. Outfitted with enough missiles to blow up a city...or a school for mutants. 

Erik felt a sudden anger tear across his mind, the girl holding on to him had long ago let go. He whirled around just as the helicopter landed. Wind cut across them, leaving them ruffled and wind-blown. Erik saw the guns and reached for the metal in them, fully prepared to destroy any threat they presented. Then, a new man stepped out from it and his heart sunk. He knew that man. He knew the monster in that man. 

William Stryker was stalking towards them, eyes narrowed. He looked as if he hadn't aged a day. Erik stood in front of the students, he felt his power curl around the metal of helicopter, the metal of their weapons, the heated metal in the burning house. The only reason these men weren't run through, _no_ the only reason they had landed was because Erik didn't want to scar a child. Fatherhood did that you.

"What are you doing here?" Hank called lowly, Erik didn't have to be a telepath to know that the rage Hank felt was already simmering and just about to boil over, "Why did you destroy a school?"

"All of our nukes just launched into space. The US's, the Red's, _everyone's_." William ground out, "The only telepath who could have a reach of that far was, guess who? Charles Xavier. The government has a code of what to do if he were to, well, let's say, use his powers not so nicely."

Mystique's eyes blazed. Erik saw how her hands were balled into shaking fists at her side, he also saw the way her scales curled into their natural navy. "You could have killed children."

Stryker ignored her, instead, he searched for a familiar head of hair and a wheelchair. "So, Xavier didn't make it? How unfortunate."

"He's not here!" Mystique screeched, "We don't know what the hell that was!"

The Major blinked and didn't even ponder it for a second. He simply sighed, put his sunglasses on his face and made a gesture. His men raised their weapons and chaos erupted. Erik reached for the metal and the children ran for cover. The older kids made it farther, but Erik didn't destroy the weapons fast enough. There was a gun shot, a flash of blue, he was thrown backward and then there was nothing.

* * *

 

"Dawn has arrived." Apocalypse boomed suddenly as the first rosy tendril of dawn cut into the inky black of the sky. The horsemen all stood, all of their tiredness was suddenly gone. They all stood, moving closer to the cliff's edge to see the end of the world- **beginning of their world**. "My children, let man's creation fall. Their time has ended, let the strong inherit the earth."

What happened next, they would think about for years. The god threw out his hands and suddenly, Cairo exploded into chaos. The metal of their buildings seemed to pull towards them while the wind carried other, smaller things. And as these things moved, they dissolved into nothing...only to become everything. The horsemen gaped at the display of power, they marveled at the new building. Apocalypse only continued to build his Tower of Babel. 

And then, in a matter of moments, it was done. And standing before them, a gift from the rubble of Cairo, was a pyramid. It was huge and glowed silver in any light that hit it. Apocalypse's eyes slipped back into their usual dark color. Xavier looked up and grinned at the display. Psylocke remained impassive. Angel was smirking. And Storm just stared up in awe. The god turned back to them and held out his hands in a 'look at my power' gesture. 

It was the perfect way to tell them all there was no backing out now. It was the perfect way to tell them that Apocalypse saw all of them for what they really were. It was the perfect way to tell the world that _he owned them_. 

"What now?" Angel asked while his wings twitched and the metal feathers clicked together. "We've no opposition."

"Give them time." Psylocke breathed out, her eyes glinted like steel, cold and dead, "The humans are going want to go out with a bang."

Storm rolled her eyes. "They don't have anything to use. We've practically won."

There was a sudden sound of whirring blades and they all glanced up. A helicopter was flying towards them and it didn't take anyone more than ten seconds to recognize the weaponized outfits. Psylocke drew her sword and suddenly, the outcropping was bathed in a purple light. Thunder rumbled over the sound of metal striking metal. But, it all stopped when Xavier jumped up from where he had been sitting. 

The horsemen watched in a sick fascination as Xavier simply held out his hand and then, the helicopter took a nosedive. There was a moment of whirring silence before an explosion rocked the ground. Xavier's features were bathed in the orange flickers of flame and he tossed over his shoulder, "We really shouldn't waste our energy on the small fry."

To anyone else, it was a frightening display of power. 

To them, it was a display of how far gone Charles really was.

* * *

 

Erik woke up to a throbbing headache and an annoying, yet blinding green light. He blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision and once it was clear, he turned his head to the side and took in the other forms in the room. He blinked a few times in an effort to make sure they were actually real. He wasn't so sure anymore. Despite the painful metal grating under his hands, he didn't feel it. He didn't feel it calling to him. He didn't have his powers. He had his powers at the Pentagon, so this was his perfect definition of hell. He felt like someone tore into his chest, his heart, his very _being_ , and took something that made him, well, him. 

"Erik?" Mystique murmured. Gone was her blonde form and in its place was her natural, navy one. She blinked her yellow eyes a few times. She tried to change back, but it was useless. None of them could use their powers. "What happened?"

" _Oh, what the fresh hell is that?!_ " Screeched Peter and that was more than enough to let Erik know Hank was with them. 

There was a rustling sound and Hank sat up. He shook his head to shake out his blue fur. He looked at his now clawed hands and finally, let out a sigh. "I left my medicine at home."

Peter flushed scarlet. "Oh, sorry man."

Hank rolled his eyes, but Erik simply looked up at the silo they were in. It was metal and he couldn't feel anything. "Stryker must've taken us somewhere."

"Correct, Mr. Lehnsherr." Echoed down Stryker's voice from the loudspeaker, in response they all looked up to see the man himself through a window about ten feet up, "Or should I call you Magneto? What you should be called is so confusing."

"What do you want?" 

"We, the United State's government, need to know where Charles Xavier is." Stryker barked suddenly, he seemed more unfriendly than usual. Erik could tell that higher ups were putting the squeeze on him to find out where the telepath is. "Since you're teachers at his school, you should know. So, where is he?"

Peter looked up and tossed his head back. He groaned loudly and it carried on for about a minute. "Dude! We already told you that we don't know. Hank's the only teacher anyway!"

Stryker frowned, but he held something up and Erik felt his stomach drop. It was Shaw's-no, his-helmet. The one he had left behind ten years ago in Washington DC. Erik swallowed and his eyes went wide,"Why do you have that?"

"We found it in the rubble." Stryker commented, "We've heard of anti-telepathic creations from the Soviets, so finding this was a stroke of luck. Anyway, as much as I'd like to return you to your merry band of freakish kids, I can't."

"Why?" Hank demanded. He was standing now and his blue fur was bristling. "Why can't you let us go? We haven't done anything!"

The Major didn't say a thing, instead, he simply walked away and left them in brittle silence. Erik sat back down and sighed, placing his head in his hands with frustration. He wanted to scream, throttle something, but he couldn't. He finally growled into his hands, "Does no one understand that the world is on the verge of ending?!"

Peter sat down next to him and let out a long sigh, "I'm getting that feeling. So, it looks like we're going to be stuck here at the end of the world, huh?"

"We can't just sit here!" Mystique finally cried, she was beginning to pace and Erik could tell the stress finally got to her, "We have to try and find some way out. We have to stop Apocalypse. We have to save the world!"

"Do you hear yourself?" Peter groaned finally, "We have no idea how to stop Apocalypse! We don't even know where he is."

Hank frowned and bowed his head in defeat, "Peter's got a point...but, I just don't want to die in here."

There was a strange moment when the silo went silent. It took a few minutes for anyone to break the silence and finally, Peter just groaned. "You know what? If I'm going to die here, I'm going out with no secrets. Erik, Magneto, whatever the hell you want to be called...you're my dad."

The comical "What?" that followed accompanied by everyone's equally comical expressions.

* * *

 

"The humans," Angel reported as he landed, metal wings glowing in the morning light, "they're running away. Even their army and police force have turned back. It appears their destruction will be painfully easy."

Psylocke nodded, "We're going to have to kill them ourselves, aren't we?"

"Seems like it." Storm confirmed. Apocalypse had gone inside his new pyramid and had left the horsemen to fend for themselves. "But then again, who has ever heard of a god who hasn't caused a lot of death?"

Angel and Psylocke both shrugged, the woman simply chuckled, "I guess you have a point." After a few moments, they all turned their gazes towards the silent Xavier, who just watch their conversation as if he was watching a chemical reaction. Psylocke asked, "Does it bother you?"

"Does what bother me?"

Storm looked at the telepath. She couldn't put her finger on why he'd ask a question like that since he already knew the answer. But, surprisingly, Angel finished for the sword-wielding woman. "The fact that you probably have only a few hours to live. You're literally going to become Apocalypse. Does that bother you?"

Xavier looked at each of them, he blinked a few times as if he was truly considering the whole question. After a few moments, his shoulders sagged but his eyes remained that ice cold blue. "I can't tell anymore."

The screaming from the people of the city below continued, a haunting symphony for the end of the world. Psylocke simply frowned when she saw Xavier close his eyes, the signal ending the conversation right then and there. She shook her head and walked over to the other side of their clearing. She set down her sword and sat down, but her posture stayed straight as if she was waiting for an attack.

Angel, on the other hand, simply spread his wings and took off into the sky. The women watched him go with disinterest, he'd be back soon enough to tell them what he saw. After all, nothing said 'team' like causing the end of the world together. Storm simply climbed over the rocks and found herself a perch. She sat back and stared skyward as if expecting some sort of resistance to come. 

And so there they were a perfect picture of peaceful serenity above the chaos of dying people. It was truly peaceful until Storm felt a twinge in the back of her mind and then, the floodgates opened. 

_They'reDying.We'reDoingThat.OroroAndCharles.They'reSoAfraid.ICan'tHoldOn.OhGod.SomeOneHelp.Erik!OroroAndCharles.IWillNotBreak.It'sTooLate._

The woman simply turned to stare as Charles. He sat tall and still, eyes still closed as if his mind was screaming for help. She swallowed, it was easy to feel bad for him, after all, he was nothing more than a man at war with himself. 

_MyNameIsCharlesXavier. **TheirWorldWillBeAsh**.OhGod!NoNoNo.SomeonePlease.OroroAndCharles.IWillNotBreak.ICanNotBreak.CanNoBodyHearMe?!_

And still, he remained calm and still. It was chilling. She could feel the mantra, the pleading, the final defense fading and being pulled thin. Those thoughts were going to get pulled tighter and tighter and they going to snap. And no one could do a thing to stop it. 

_EveryoneIsDying.It'sMyFault. **NoMoreFalseGods**.OroroAndCharles.Someone.Anyone!Please.ICan'tHoldOn.Cairo. **NoMoreSuperPowers**._

_MyNameIsCharlesXavier. **HumanityIsFinished**.OroroAndCharles. **I'mHereMySon**.ErikPlease! **ThereIsNoNeedForThis**.MyNameIsCharlesXavier._

_**It'sTheEndOfTheWorld**.MyNameIs. **TheirFalseGodsAreGone**.OroroAnd. **You'reMine.**_

And, it snapped. 

And all Storm heard echoing through her mind was silence.


	5. Chapter 5

"I'm your...what?" Erik blinked, trying to process if it was the truth or if the kid was crazy, "What?"

Peter blinked and nodded, "You're my dad. Remember the Pentagon? When you said you controlled metal, I was all like 'my mom knew a guy like that' and we both sort of questioned our existences? Yeah, I told my mom about that and she sort of confirmed."

Erik blinked again, trying to find words but he couldn't. It did sort of make sense. Metal related mutations were rare and the odds of Peter's mother knowing another metal-bending mutant were very low. Erik swallowed. "So...you're my son?"

"Yep."

Mystique had been looking between the two with a furrowed brow. "Well, now that you mention it...you guys look alike."

Hank straightened and called, "If you want to be sure, I could do a test later. It'd be no problem really."

"Thanks." Erik nodded, Peter- _his son_ -just nodded and grinned. Then he cleared his throat and finally said, "We need to think of an escape plan. I can't just sit here and do nothing while the world ends."

"Walls are electrified," Mystique frowned, staring at the green lights, "one touch and we'd be fried."

Peter shrugged. "There's no way we can bust through the door or break the glass up there. Maybe...if Hank threw one of us hard enough we could-"

The amount of "No's" that rang out that moment were substantial. Erik looked up and frowned. But that's when he heard it. A single sound, a loud and quick popping sound. And soon it was followed by countless others to create a choir of destruction. He blinked. Stryker's men were shooting at something and from the sound of it...they weren't doing any good.

"What the hell?" Mystique breathed out. She saw Stryker sprint from the room like a bat out of hell, "Don't just leave us! Come on!"

Blood splashed against the window and she screamed.

* * *

The halls of the pyramid were a silver maze, Xavier was sure of it. The horsemen followed Apocalypse through the winding hallways into a destination they knew not. Storm gaped at the structure with wide eyes while the others just kept walking. It was unnaturally cold and Xavier could feel the goosebumps becoming defined on his arms. He ignored them as they weren't important. When the hall finally gave way to a larger room, his eyes widened.

The room was huge and ahead of them stood five statues. One for each of them, each standing tall and becoming the guardians of the room. Apocalypse's statue was seated, a throne for the god of the new world. Xavier would've once thought their life-like appearance creepy and unnerving, but he didn't really think about much anymore. Just, listen and obey. 

"This is...awesome." Storm breathed. 

For once, Psylocke nodded in agreement. Angel just stared at everything, wide-eyed. Apocalypse just cast a glance backwards and his features twisted into a grin. It was something feral and any other people would run away in terror. "My children, our time has come."

He reached out his hand towards one of the two tables in the center of the room. "There are no more false gods. No more superpowers. Soon it will be us and a world of our brethren. No more weakness."

Xavier shuddered the second the god's hand touched the table. This was it. He was done for...and he couldn't even spare a thought to plead for his life. 

"Go, my children, weed out the weak." His eyes glowed white in the low light, "Fight for our future. Protect me."

And it was strange, the way the three horsemen were practically tripping over one another to agree and carry out. Psylocke nodded and stalked out, a predator in her own right, but now, she was so much more. She would cause disaster where she walked. Angel, on the other hand, spread his wings and flew after the woman. His bladed wings would carry him to war and he'd destroy the opposition. Storm, she watched Xavier a bit longer, took note of his trembling hands and calm features before turning away and walking away, more slowly than the others. She'd bring famine and destroy those too weak to fight. 

It would be a slaughter...and no one was coming to stop it. Not yet, anyway. 

"My son," Apocalypse called over to Xavier, the horseman dragged his feet as he walked over to join the god, "transcendence is upon us. Are you ready?"

Xavier remained silent. He didn't have a choice in the matter, so what was the point of answering? Apocalypse simply walked to the other one as Xavier climbed on and laid down. He gritted his teeth to fight against the anxiety curling into his being, but it was useless. The god simply raised his hand and the golden center piece began to rise. The horseman didn't even have the mental strength to call for help, to beg, to project a mantra. 

So, instead, Xavier closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see the end.

* * *

Erik watched in a shocked horror as the screaming came to abrupt stop, leaving them in a sickening silence. It was useless to think that military men above were alive, no one screamed that much and came out alive. Erik knew that. He knew that _well_. 

And then, in a matter of seconds, Kurt was standing at the window. Erik blinked in confusion as the boy spoke but no sound broke through the window. He motioned with his hands, but the message didn't get across. Eventually, he found the button for the speaker, but despite that, his voice came out crackly and wrong.

"Look...door." Echoed his voice.

"What? We can't understand you, man!" Peter shouted and Kurt frowned. 

"Watch...door...Scott..."

Hank pieced it together first. His eyes widened and he finally shouted, "Get away from the door!"

They all did what they were told and just as they got to a safe place, the door burst it, followed by a red light that was more than enough to tell them who broke it down. Scott put his glasses on as Jean poked her head inside, "Are you guys okay?"

Mystique nodded, since the electrical field was broken, she shifted back to her blonde form. "Yeah, how are you guys here?"

"We caught a ride." Scott chuckled, the two teens stepped back in order to let the others exit their makeshift prison, "We have a way out. There's a ship in the hangar."

Jean swallowed and looked up, "I know where the Professor is. They're in Cairo." When she noticed the confused glances, she decided to elaborate, "I could feel a psychic trail. I managed to follow it and it said 'Cairo'. They have to be there."

"It's better than nothing," Erik replied as he exited, but once his shoe touched a pool of scarlet blood, he frowned, "you've been busy."

"Well...we had help." Scott grinned, "Come on, follow me!" 

And they took off running, deftly dodging dead bodies and more than enough blood to know that none of these men were getting up. Kurt had teleported in at some point, scaring Scott and almost made him run into a wall. The boy rolled his eyes and kept running. Eventually, they turned a corner and found themselves in a large hangar. And standing in front of them, was a large airship.

"Hank..." Mystique breathed slowly, blue eyes sliding to the fur-covered man, "can you fly it?"

"I can figure it out." He replied with a nod, already moving towards the ship.

Erik reached out towards the metal of the ship and found it was a basic design, similar to Hank's blackbird. He felt Kurt tap him on the shoulder, so he turned, only to be presented with his helmet. Kurt held it out to him, tail lashing at his feet while he smiled, showing sharpened teeth. "I believe this is yours."

"Oh, um, thank you, Kurt." Erik breathed, taking the helmet from the teleporter and staring at it with wide eyes. Why had Charles kept it after all these years? He had left it to the telepath unofficially, silently hoping that he'd destroy it. "Why didn't Charles destroy this?"

Hank looked back at him and frowned, "He couldn't. According to him, it was a reminder. Of what? I honestly don't know. You can ask him when we get him back."

There was a sliding sound and everyone turned to Scott as he opened a container. Scott blinked, staring at the garments, "Guys, flight suits."

Mystique blinked and stared at the two adult males. A grin turned up on her face, "Well, we have a weapon to keep Charles out and Hank's finally got his warplane. So, let's go to war."

* * *

 

Charles wanted to scream. He could feel the heat of the gold getting closer, burning him. He wanted to scream and writhe, he wanted Apocalypse out of his head. His cold persona had disappeared the second the transcendence started, leaving him, _the real him_ , terrified and about to die. He fought against the restraints to no avail, only succeeding in burning the designs of the table into his forearms. Apocalypse's presence had withered as his consciousness began to switch in a cloud of blue, but Charles still couldn't get free. 

"Get out my head!" He screeched, fingernails tearing into the soft flesh of his palms. The pain was grounding him. Reminding him that **_he was Charles_.** _Not. Apocalypse_. "Get out of my head!"

It wouldn't stop. **It. Wouldn't. Stop.** He could feel his mind being invaded, he could feel the smokey presence of the god. It was choking him, burning him, _killing_ him. In an attempt to free himself of it, he bashed his head against the table. He could feel the gold burn into his temple and cheekbone, but he didn't care. He was scared. He didn't want to die. So he kept doing it until blood flowed freely. 

It was useless. He could feel the ice cold blue begin to crawl to him, he could feel his hair begin to brittle. Charles closed his eyes against the pain and did the only thing he could. He started screaming.

 

_"We're going to war, like an actual war. We could die." Peter breathed out, eyes wide with coiled energy but he smiled with a crippling fear, "Dude, my mom said I should get out of the house, but I don't think she meant this."_

_"Were you scared?" Jean asked suddenly, eyes turning to Mystique, "That day in Washington?"_

_"No." Mystique said simply, but she then smiled, "But when I was about your age, I went on a mission like this. I was terrified. We called ourselves the 'X-Men', you know? I made some mistakes that day...but, I guess they were righted in the end. But yeah, I was scared."_

_"How many of you are there now?"_

_Erik let out a sigh, "Hank, Mystique and I are the only ones here. Charles was there too. Your brother, Scott, was one of us."_

_"Yeah," Hank called back, a smile on his face, "we called him 'Havok'. He was quite the handful back then. Well, I guess we all were in a way."_

_Peter leaned forward, "I guess it was a long time ago, I take it?" When the adults nodded, he smiled, "You know, when I saw you guys on TV, it changed my life."_

_"Yeah." Jean agreed, a small smile on her face, "It was life changing. I was just a little kid and to see you and hear Erik's speech. It was...amazing."_

_Kurt joined in and his tail wagged at his face, "Me too!"_

_There was a small amount of nervous laughter and then, Erik let out a sigh. There was a small moment of peace and then, Jean straightened. Her eyes went wide and she breathed, "It's the Professor. I can feel him."_

_"We're entering Cairo!" Hank yelled back, he accelerated the aircraft's speed, "Hold on, we're almost there!"_

_"Jean," Erik blinked, "what do you mean?"_

_"Oh god..." The flame-haired breathed out, "Apocalypse, he's transferring his consciousness over to the Professor. If he does that...we're done for. He could control every mind in the world."_

_After she said that, Erik gritted his teeth and slipped the helmet on his head. He lunged at the empty co-pilot's seat and held onto it to keep himself steady. And that's when he saw Cairo. His eyes widened and he simply breathed out, "Holy shit."_

_The city had been reduced to broken buildings and rubble. It looked like ground zero from an earthquake, or as if someone had blown up the entire city just for the hell of it. Erik blinked when he saw the silver pyramid in the distance. He swallowed, the golden top of it was glowing and it gave him a bad feeling. "Hank, what's that thing on top of the pyramid?"_

_"I don't know." He replied grimly, "It's giving off energy signatures I've never seen. I think...I think it's helping Apocalypse somehow."_

_"Well," Erik's eyes narrowed and his expression went dark, "good thing it's metal."_

_**This is for you, Charles.** And, he reached out his powers towards it._

 

Charles's eyes snapped open the second his telepathy let go of the incoming minds. The pain was burning throughout his entire body and he felt like at any moment, he'd be gone. So, it was quite a relief when the golden tip of the pyramid bent in on itself. He watched in shock as the piece lifted away and disappeared out of sight. There was an instant where it was silent and he was free, but it was gone as soon as it started. 

Apocalypse sat up with an angered roar. His mental presence returned and Xavier blinked. 

"They're here." Xavier said grimly, telling Apocalypse what he already knew, "We're going to war."

The god turned, eyes wild with rage. "Go. Kill them all." 

And Xavier was gone before the god realized what he had even commanded. He was gone before Apocalypse could change his mind.

* * *

Erik was the first one off the ship the second it landed. He was sweating and he felt as if he was going to pass out, but he ignored it. Moving the top of the pyramid had spent a large amount of his energy. Tearing the metal free from the rest of the pyramid had been like pulling a rock from the center of the mountain. Nearly impossible, but he did it anyway. And now, he was marching to war with two friends, a few children, and his son.

He stepped into a war zone. Buildings had been destroyed and their contents spilled into the street, covering it in a fine coating of dust and other belongings. There wasn't a live human anywhere, but there had been bodies strewn out occasionally. They had been crushed when Apocalypse had built the pyramid. Mystique stared out at the destruction and swallowed. 

A timid voice arose from behind them and surprisingly, it was Scott. "Not all of us can control our powers."

"Then don't," the shapeshifter had bit out, "this is war. And, there's no use hiding anymore. It's us or them. It's time to save the world."

And then, her skin rippled into their navy color. Her yellow eyes blinked and she nodded at Erik, who rolled his eyes despite the smile. Peter pushed his goggles down and grinned, "What the plan?"

"Knock out the horsemen," Hank said flatly, he growled and the sound rumbled in the silent clearing, "and then we can focus on Apocalypse."

There was a shadow overhead and Erik felt something twist in his chest. His eyes widened and he lunged forward, hand flying out as he stopped the oncoming metal assault. Eyes widened and Erik turned around the metal feathers only to fire them back. The figure dodged them with ease and landed on the remaining building, crouching down and watching them like a gargoyle. 

"Run!" Mystique yelled suddenly and then, they all sprinted for cover away from the ship. 

Their group moved quickly, jumping over debris and dodging the assault of metal. Eventually, they took cover under an outcropping of a building. The white-crested girl from before landed in a flash of lightning that no one could deny being awesome. She stalked forwards, eyes going white as her arms spread wide. The dust began to stir into a storm and then, a car lifted.

Hank let out a guttural snarl and darted out from their cover. He braced himself and held out his hands. The car hit him full force but he dug his feet into the dirt and threw it back. They didn't see what happened to the white-crested girl, instead, there was a flash of movement and a flash of purple cut through the metal like it was nothing. A newcomer stood there, long hair blowing in the wind while her features were bathed in purple. 

"Nice," Erik commented at Hank, who only let out a growl in return. "I'll handle the one with the wings."

And with that, he held out his hands and focused on the metal in his suit. And soon enough, his feet left the ground. He gained height while the winged man simply dove, wings allowing him to fly straight at Erik. He gritted his teeth and reached for the metal but his stomach dropped when he realized, he couldn't feel the feathers. It was like they were a part of him. And then he realized. Organic metal. He couldn't manipulate it until it was fired. 

The boy, Erik decided to call him 'Angel', slammed into him full force. Erik felt the air leave his lungs as they both were knocked back, past a building and down the road. A swift lash with a wing sent him slamming into a car, the metal breaking under him. He could feel where the blade cut into his skin. Blood soaked through his pant leg. It wasn't a deep cut but _god_ did it bleed. 

Erik summoned the broken bit of metal around him and threw them at Angel, the metal turning into projectiles that would easily run him through. He dodged all of them with ease and Erik jumped up, ignoring the throbbing in his leg. He had suffered torture worse than this, so walking was easy. Angel fired three feathers and Erik held out his hand, stopping them. 

But then, a force slammed into his back and he was sent sprawling in the dust. The feathers clattered to the ground uselessly and Erik rolled over just in time to avoid a boot slamming into the ground where his head had been only a moment prior. Helmet or not, that would've killed him for sure. The newcomer jumped away and Erik let out a sigh as he climbed to his feet. People who were light on their feet were always much harder to fight. 

He looked up to access his attacker and he blinked. 

"Miss me?" Charles grinned, face twisted in a snarl that was so unlike him, "Because I _sure_ missed you."

Erik wanted to scream at his friend's appearance. His hair clung to his sweat-covered forehead while a large amount of blood coated the side of his face. He was now in a full battle suit like Angel and Erik couldn't feel the metal plating. He wanted to throttle Apocalypse at this point or tear him to pieces. Both were good options. But, Erik just gaped at the fact that Charles. Was. _Standing_.

"Charles," he breathed out, "what did Apocalypse do to you?"

"Nothing you haven't." He spat, Erik was taken aback by the man's anger. "You know, I was planning on going after the children but then I saw you and I couldn't resist. I really couldn't resist tearing into the man who made my life hell."

"Those are his words. Not _yours_!"

"But they work." The telepath grinned and Erik blinked. Charles couldn't get into his head, so how could he even hope to fight Erik? It didn't make sense. Charles waved off Angel, who nodded and flew off to join the other horsemen. "Well, just us now."

"You can't beat me."

"You are forgetting one very slight _yet very important_ detail, my friend." Charles practically purred, "I have a few... _upgrades_ from Apocalypse thanks to a failed transcendence."

Erik swallowed down his fear, swallowed down his sadness and let his anger rise. Erik couldn't kill his friend. He couldn't hurt Charles, not again. Not like how he'd been hurt before on a beach in Cuba. But, Magneto could do that. Magneto could kill anyone who got in his way, friend or foe. So, he killed Erik and brought out a monster he had abandoned years ago. 

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we're over 200 Kudos and I want to thank all of you so much! It really means a lot and it really makes me want to write more for this fandom. :) Which, I probably will.

Magneto curled his hand into a fist and felt for all the metal he could. He could feel it all signing to him, calling him, beckoning to their placement. He could feel each and every metal piece as if it was an extension of his own body, he could feel it all in his blood. He gritted his teeth and looked over at Charles, who simply refused to stop grinning at him. Except, it wasn't friendly anymore. It was the smile a wolf gave to an injured rabbit right before it tore into the smaller creature's throat.

"I know you, Erik," Charles chuckled, starting to pace as if he was the predator here, "you couldn't kill me even if you tried."

The other man narrowed his eyes, with the helmet on, Charles couldn't tell his intentions but he also couldn't use his mental presence to snap his friend out of it. He had to do something, killing Charles _had_ to be his last option. "I know you're still in there, old friend. Just snap out of it. I see what your future is heading towards...and I'm ready to be a part of it."

And that set the horseman off. His eyes flashed and Erik was suddenly knocked backwards by a punch to the sternum. He hissed in pain, but still remained on his feet. It was then and only then that he realized, _he didn't even see Charles move._ He barely dodged the kick aimed at his knee but returned Charles's assault by delivering a left hook to the smaller man's jaw. He staggered backwards and didn't react after that. He had always imagined Charles to have a glass jaw, one that would break the second it was hit, but Magneto found that _his_ own hand hurt.

He flexed out his hand a few times before looking up at Charles, who was just blinking at him. His eyebrows twitched and he opened his eyes once. Magneto's stomach dropped at the black color they had become, but it was done the second the other man blinked. He swallowed. Charles looked up, "So you do pack quite a punch after all."

"Training your whole life to kill someone will do that." Magneto bit out, "But, I don't think you understand that."

Charles jumped back, just narrowly missing his right hook. Magneto lunged again, but he always danced out of reach. The telepath actually laughed before he ducked the metal bender's next punched. He grabbed his wrist and with ease, twisted it and put it between his shoulder blades. Magneto let out a shout of pain and Charles just shoved him away. There was a moment when the two stood a few feet from another. 

"How do you expect to take me down?" Magneto taunted, trying to see what the other would do. 

"In the best way possible, of course!"

He held out his hand and...nothing happened. 

There was a moment of silence until he heard it. A screeching sound. Magneto's heart dropped and his eyes widened. Birds screeched and descended. He felt a large bird slam into his side and leave talon marks in the leather. Another scratched at his back while three others went for his face. He thrashed his hands, trying to scare them off but then he paused. Animals. He was controlling animals...and that was Nina's power. 

His heart clenched painfully and he let out sound that was between a growl of rage and sob of misery. No, Charles didn't get to do this to him. _Apocalypse_ didn't get to do this to him. He held out his hand and small flecks of metal flew outwards, throwing the birds away. Charles's must've gotten bored with them since they all flew away after that. He rounded on the horseman, rage directed at Apocalypse. Not Charles. _Never_ Charles.

"You don't get to do that to me!" He spat, "Nobody does!"

The horseman grinned wide and then, there was a flash of purple and he was gone. Magneto blinked in shock, so Charles had gotten some of Apocalypse's abilities? How? It didn't make sense, well, not to him anyway. His thoughts were cut short as a boot slammed into his spine. He fell forwards, only for a small hand to grab him by the throat. Charles didn't have a weak grip, instead, he slammed him on the ground. 

"Oh please," grinned the horseman as he stepped on Magneto's throat, not enough to kill him, just enough to keep him in place, "I fought in Korea."

Magneto reached for the metal beside him, but the pressure increased suddenly and his vision went white. Only for it to be removed a second later and a hand was snapping in front of his vision. "Dude? You okay?"

"Peter?" He rasped, his son nodded and helped him to his feet, "What are you doing?"

The silver haired boy grinned, "Figured we could have some good old father and son bonding, you know? Looks like I came right in time since you were getting your ass handed to you."

He patted him on the shoulder and nodded, "Thanks."

"So, that's the Professor?" He pointed at where Charles had landed. He was twenty feet away and face down in the dust, but he was already clambering to his feet before he even said anything else. "Damn. If he's a teacher then I hope I never get in trouble when I enroll."

Magneto snorted in laughter and shook his head, but his son continued on, "What's the plan?"

"We need to take him down," he swallowed against the bile in his throat, "if you can keep him distracted, I can find a way to take him down without killing him. His abilities are on the fritz."

"Yeah, kinda figured that." His son replied as he adjusted his goggles around his eyes, "I got him, pops."

And then, there was a gust of wind and he was gone. Magneto watched with guilt as Charles was easily thrown around by his son like it was nothing. The academic man was sprawled in the dust, swearing with rage. And then, Peter stopped suddenly. The boy seemed confused but then, he listed to the side and fell to the dirt, dead to the world. Magneto's heart dropped.  

It was like seeing Nina and Magda's twisted bodies in the grass, the way Peter just laid there. His arms were splayed out and his legs were not fairing much better. He reached towards the locket around his neck and felt it heat up in return. That would keep him grounded here and now, not then and there. Magneto reached out for the metal in Peter's flight suit and breathed a sigh of relief when it moved when the boy breathed. 

Magneto summoned the metal from the ground beneath Charles and wrapped in around the other man's ankle. He didn't have time to react before Magneto dragged him back towards him and away from his son. As the Professor was dragged closer, he could make out the bruises and scratches now littering his skin...and how fast they were clearing. Before he stopped, Charles raised a hand to his temple. 

There was a flash and Magneto was sent flying. He hit the side of a car and simply laid in the dust, trying to collect his breath. He watched out from the helmet as the white created girl helped the Professor his feet. The two seemed to share a few words and then, she raised her hand. Lightning danced from finger to finger and the air began to crackle with energy. 

She fired.

But it never struck. A hand had grabbed onto Magneto and suddenly, he was transported away to a safer location.

"Mr. Lehnsherr," Kurt breathed next to him, eyes wide at the damage and blood on the elder man, "are you okay?"

Erik nodded. He had seen how Magneto did, but it didn't work. He couldn't even land a hit worth a damn. Kurt disappeared in a puff of smoke, but he returned a second later with an unconscious Peter next to him. The teleported blinked, "What happened to him?"

"Charles knocked him unconscious with his telepathy." He answered and Kurt nodded, "He should be fine."

"Erik," Jean breathed out from behind him, he turned to face the wide-eyed girl as she continued, "we can't beat them. Angel and Storm have us pinned from the air and Psylocke is fighting with Mr. McCoy. I've tried getting in their heads but the Professor has them shielded. All I got was their names."

Scott turned away from his position as the lookout. He flinched as metal feathers pelted the concrete of the wall. "Jean's right. If we can't fight them...then how do we even fight Apocalypse?"

And for once, he was at a loss. "I don't know...but that doesn't mean we should give up. If we can keep them split up, we should have a way to defeat them. Where's Mystique?"

"Right here, Erik." She called. He turned to see Mystique helping a limping Beast in through the broken door. The man was bleeding from a wound on his leg and it was beginning to stain his fur purple. "We need a plan. Now. We can't keep going like this. It's going to get us killed."

He nodded and frowned. He didn't want to lead these children, but without someone like Charles, no one else would, "So, let's look at the basics here. We have Charles, a girl who can create and wield weapons, another girl who can control the weather and a boy who can shoot metal feathers from his wings."

Scott perked up, "Maybe the beams from my eyes could match Storm's lightning!"

"It's worth a shot." Erik shrugged, "Jean, you go with him. You can use your powers to provide cover. Hank, can you still fight with Psylocke?" When the blue-furred man nodded, Erik continued, "Good. Mystique you go with him. It'd be more difficult with a two-on-one fight. And Kurt, you and Peter can take Angel."

"But, sir! Peter isn't awake!"

There was a silent moment before Jean rested her hand at the silver-haired boy's temple. Peter sat up instantly, a shout of terror following him. He looked around wildly before relaxing, "Oh thank god. The Prof packs a punch. Literally thought he was going to murder me."

"Kurt," Erik commanded and the blue boy nodded, "fill Peter in. I'm going after Charles. If we can split up the horsemen, we'll have an easier time."

* * *

 

Xavier's shoes just barely touched the concrete of the building's roof before Storm let go of his hand. The wind stopped abruptly and she landed next to him. They shared a nod before walking over to Psylocke and Angel, neither of which looked injured. Psylocke glanced at the two before calling, "They're hiding from us."

"Do you blame them?" Angel asked with a smirk on his face, he rolled his shoulder and a wing jingled as the metal clanged together. "We nearly killed them all in the first ten minutes."

The telepath frowned deeply and stared at where he knew them to be hiding. Something in him leapt for joy when he thought about all the ways he could kill them, but he didn't spare a thought to spare them. How could when you had **_KillThemKillThemKillThemKillThemKillThem_** running through your blood? He shook his head in an attempt to clear his senses. It didn't work. It never worked.

Storm's gaze slid from him before she asked, "What do we do now? Together they could be a problem."

"Split them up." Psylocke hissed slowly, eyes staring at what Xavier's were, "And then, kill them. Short and simple. I'll take the bear and the hero. Those two have enough hand to hand combat training that only I'd be able to take them down fully."

Xavier blinked. He shivered when he felt second-hand thoughts tear into is mind. A grin cracked across his face. "That's what they're planning. Storm, you have the kid with the glasses and the ginger. Angel, you're taking the teleporter and the kid with the speed. Magneto is mine."

There were nods of agreement and without a word or even being asked to, he projected the children's abilities into the minds of the other horsemen. There were nods in thanks and Xavier grinned at them in return. Besides, what type of teacher would he be if he didn't know his student's limits? 

And then, there was a moment where they all froze. 

**My children, this is our last obstacle. When they are gone, our world will soon be a reality.**

The presence Apocalypse had in all of their minds was painful, to describe it lightly. It was grating and set all of their teeth on edge despite it. Each and every one of them wanted to cover their ears against it, find some way for the words to get softer, but, none of them could move.

**So go, my horsemen, destroy them. I shall join you soon.**

And, they were free to move. Psylocke drew her sword and it glowed with a purple fire. Angel spread his wings, yet he didn't take off. Storm just curled her hands into fists. They all shared a nod and Xavier simply grinned, "See you all after?"

"We won't be seeing you for much longer," Psylocke replied flatly, if he had known her before all of this, he would have known she sounded slightly sad, "but, yeah. I'll even bring you the head of the shapeshifter. She was always rude to me."

Xavier gave her a 'go-ahead' gesture that felt all wrong. She nodded and turned her attention to Angel. The boy nodded at Xavier and took off, hands holding onto Psylocke's as the two glided away. He grinned at the sight before glancing at Storm, who just nodded. "Need a ride down?"

"No, thank you, though." Xavier turned and examined the way the metal around them was beginning to float in the air. The children's hiding place was slowly beginning to shake and Xavier's grin never stopped. "I found my own way down."

* * *

 

Erik had focused all his power into the area that consisted of a mile in each direction. He needed to focus, he needed to know what was all there. He needed to know what he could use to fight or to defend. Mystique had told him to break apart their hideout and throw the rubble in each direction, giving them time to split up and run, but also giving their enemies's an obstacle. 

He nodded at each and every person in the room before throwing all of the metal in the small space outward. From outside, there was a surprised screech and the sound of metal wings flying higher. And the children each sprinted away in a different direction, using the chaos to their advantage to lure their enemies away. And, it was working. He could already see Storm flying after Jean and Scott, while Psylocke dropped down after Mystique and Beast. Angel just continued to circle as if he was a vulture. 

Erik took off running in his own direction, with each piece of metal magnetising after him. The metal all floated in the air like some sort of twisted rain, but it didn't matter. He could feel it moving. He could feel Charles coming after him. 

It only took a moment for him to turn around and fire sharpened pieces of metal. 

Charles ducked under the assault and continued jumping from metal piece to metal piece. His feet never touched the ground, he just continued running after Erik as if he was on the hunt. But, he probably was. 

When he was close enough, the telepath jumped. Erik held out a hand and blocked the kick. Charles used it as leverage to jump away and land in the dust, barely a scratch on him. Erik frowned and finally, let out a slow breath. Beating the evil out of a person never worked, so why should he even try? It was Charles, after all. He needed to think of a different way. Maybe he could find a way for Charles to take back control? Maybe if he'd yell something wrong about genetics, he'd snap out of it just long enough to correct him. It was already at the top of Erik's mental list. 

"Not so keen to fight, Erik?" Charles snarled, "What happened to the man who wanted all of humanity dead? I definitely recall you wanting me by your side. So, here I am! Fulfilling your dream for you! How _ironic_ is that?"

Erik blinked and gritted his teeth. What _right_ did Apocalypse have to bring up these things? "You're right. I did want you by my side. But...not this way. I want Charles by my side. Not you. You're not him."

"What makes you think you know me?!" He finally shouted, his voice was twisted with surprisingly true rage, "You left me! Twenty years, Erik! _Twenty years!_ "

And that's when he realized how the god of mutants controlled his horsemen. He got into their head and twisted their thoughts. He played with their memories and emotions. He turned their beliefs on their heads and left nothing left of the mutants before. He brought out their anger and turned it on everyone. He created loaded guns and simply, pulled the trigger in any direction he chose. 

So, Erik now knew how to get in Charles's head.

"Charles, that's enough."

"Enough?" He called, grin turning on the edge of hysterical, "You told me enough?! Nothing ever is with you. You couldn't just walk away. You took everything from me! My family. My legs. My heart. You took everything!"

Erik placed both hands on his helmet and slipped it from his head. The telepath stopped mid-sentence and simply stared. Erik tossed it into the dust and he walked forward in his effots of closing the gap between them. Charles just blinked and suddenly, Erik felt Charles's presence wrap around his mind like a vice. Trying to twist and crush it and make him feel pain. 

And, Erik felt it.

There was no way to explain it. It felt like every nerve in his body was on fire, but freezing at the same time. Years ago, when Emma Frost had done the same thing, it had reduced him to a screaming mess on the floor. Now, he pushed through it. His pain didn't matter. Charles mattered. He always would to Erik. The pain continued and it seemed to get worse, somehow. He did his best to ignore it. 

He had once compared Emma Frost's power to ice. Cold and sharp and deadly, always causing pain and never stopping. But then he had met Charles, had let the other telepath in his head. And he compared Charles's power to sunlight. Warm and kind and the light in the darkness. But now, sunlight had been reduced to a smoky forest fire. Instead of warmth, it burned and it wasn't kind. It was choking and there was no way to get out of it. 

And, Charles seemed shocked at the way Erik just continued on, throughout the crippling pain. 

The telepath blinked and took a step back as Erik got closer. He was actually _afraid_. 

And then he felt it.

**KillHim.HeAbandonedYou.MakeHimPay.NoMoreSuperPowers.** _Erik?_ **Charles.HeLeftYou.HeTookEverything.IGaveItBack.**

**HeCausedYouPain.NoMorePain,MySon.IPromise.It'sOver.** _ErikWillLeaveAgain.HeAlwaysDoes._ **AreYouSurprised?**

The next telepathic blow sent him falling to his knees. He could feel it. Twisting and writhing in his chest. It was tearing everything apart and he swore, with the way his heart was beating, he'd have a heart attack. 

_Charles! Listen to me!_

The telepath blinked at him. 

_I am never leaving again. I promise._

Erik stood and got closer, always remaining moving to avoid falling again. Because if he fell again, he wouldn't get up. Charles just stared at him as he got closer. The telepath seemed to be at war with himself, but the way Apocalypse's thundering presence drowned out Charles's, Erik knew it was a losing battle. Once he was at arm's length, he grabbed the telepath's face with both of his hands. 

"Charles, I'm never leaving again," Erik announced to him and him alone. The words he said physically and projected mentally. Charles, the actual Charles, would hear him one way or another, "I promise."

At another time, Magda had once told him, _"Erik, I want you to know, that if something ever happens to me...it's okay to be with someone else. There is always a difference between having loved and loving someone. Please, Erik, I don't want you to be alone ever again."_ So, naturally, he had taken those words to heart. 

"I am never leaving again, because, Charles," he took a breath and finally said it, "I love you."

And then, he kissed him.

He could now feel it. The battle. The pull between Charles and Apocalypse. The telepath's control was on the fritz and Erik winced at every thought but held on. Charles was, so why shouldn't he?

**He'sLying.** _Erik._ **HeAlwaysDoes.** _OroroAndCharles._ **NoMoreFalseGods.** _ILoveYouToo._ **TheHumansWillKillAllOfYou.** _IWillNotBreak._ **You'veSeenTheFuture.** _MyNameIsCharlesXavier._

**ICanProtectYou.** _I'mMeAndYou'reYou._ **MySon,TheyWillAlwaysHurtYou.** _I'mScaringTheChildren._ **KILLHIM.KILLHIM.KILL.HIM.** _Erik,PleaseHelpMe._

There was an instance of pure peace and serenity where both forces stopped. The storm seemingly lifted and suddenly, there was sunlight. 

It didn't last long, though. Erik didn't even have time to react when the sharpened end of a metal feather stabbed into his side. He broke the kiss instantly, eyes wide in pain as he stared at a very horrified Charles. The telepath blinked once, twice and, his electric blue eyes slowly, but surely, were taken over by a black emptiness. Charles blinked once, shoved Erik away and watched him fall, the smirk growing wide on his face. 

Erik hit the dust, hands curling at the wound and he felt the warm blood flow from between his fingertips. He glanced up at Charles and found that he was still watching him, smirk on his face. Erik let out a shaky breath, "Charles...please. Snap out of it."

The telepath blinked, eyes shifting back to blue before he turned on his heel and walked away. His fingers curled at his temples, "One down, five to go. And we have a helicopter coming, nine miles inbound."

There was a sound of flapping wings and Charles was gone, leaving Erik bleeding out in the dust. 


	7. Chapter 7

Xavier could feel a twinge in his chest as he walked away, leaving a bleeding Erik in the dust. It didn't feel right leaving a man bleeding and writhing and dying on the ground. It didn't- **so finish him.** He didn't. He just walked away, calling out to Angel to drop him off to help Psylocke. The winged horseman dove, hands easily grabbing onto Xavier's outstretched ones before lifting the telepath off the ground with ease. 

"You said there was a helicopter." Angel asked, his grip never wavering, "Who is on it?"

Xavier met his gaze and felt the curl of new minds brush across his consciousness. He blinked. "American CIA agents. ETA is three minutes. Attack but don't kill them, yet. Might as well let them think they have a chance."

Angel flew lower and contrary to popular belief, his wings made very little noise. "You didn't kill the metal-bender, why?"

"I don't know...honestly."

And that was enough. Angel nodded firmly, circled once and dove to go lower. To provide Xavier cover, he fired a barrage of metal feathers. He set the telepath down as the beast of a man threw up a piece of concrete. Xavier nodded at Angel, who nodded in return. The winged horseman flew away, bursts of smoke following him. Xavier crossed the rubble with ease, jumping down to land next to a sweating Psylocke.

"You okay?" He asked. The woman was standing but her hands were shaking and she had a large cut on the side of her face. "I can take one of them."

Psylocke nodded. "Thanks. You take the girl. So, metal-bender is down?"

Xavier grinned, "As he should be. Would you mind splitting them up?"

The woman's energy blade dissolved into a whip and in an instant, she lashed out with it. The air crackled with energy at the earth between the two blue mutants cracked. The telepath nodded in thanks before jumping over a piece of rubble towards the shapeshifted, the faint sounds of Psylocke grappling with the beast were all that echoed behind him. Mystique looked up just in time to jump back from a vicious left hook.

"Charles?" She seemed shocked at the way her brother was standing before her, bleeding and trembling, but already in a fighting stance. She swallowed against the nervousness that was building up in her throat. "Please, don't do this."

"I have to." And that was all he said. It was a smooth and calm delivery, no emotion behind it. 

Mystique seemed to realize her situation, or what had happened to Erik because she lunged. Xavier dodged her punch, striking her wrist and then kicking the back of her knee. She went down but before Xavier could pin her or do any actual damage, she shifted. Her blue scales rippled and suddenly, she was a man in military dress. The strength in the new form startled him because, in a matter of seconds, Xavier was thrown backwards by a swift punch to his stomach. 

He felt a coppery taste rise in his throat before she shifted back to her blue form. "You've definitely gotten better at that."

"Charles please," she tried again, golden eyes searching for something even close to her brother, but she kept finding nothing, "snap out of it. You don't have to do this."

The telepath didn't answer, instead, there was a flash of purple and he was in front of her. Her eyes widened just as he fist smashed into her jaw. She staggered backwards and a vicious kick to her sternum sent her falling. Xavier stalked forwards before standing over her squirming body. She was trying to refill the air lost from her lungs, but he only raised his foot. A single kick at this angle would snap her ribs, or crush something important. So, it was worth a shot. 

He brought his foot down, but she rolled at the last moment. Her leg lashed out and Xavier was sent crashing to the dust, only for her hands to wrap out his throat. His eyes widened at the sudden lack of air, but he knew, deep down, she couldn't kill him. She was trying to knock him unconscious so she could go help Hank. His eyes widened and then, he wrapped his telepathy around her mind. 

_I'mSorryCharles.I'mSorryCharles.I'mSorryCharles.I'mSorryCharles.I'mSorryCharles._

Xavier's eyes widened as he felt his vision go white around the edges, but then he sent out once simple command. **Stop.** And she did. Her hands released him and she was as still as a statue before Xavier shoved her off of him. He could feel her mind trying to defend itself, curling in his grip and trying to throw up the walls Emma Frost had taught her to place. A vicious kick to her stomach sent her thoughts spiralling, another one sent them into chaos, and then the next made her scream out for help. 

There was a moment of twisted serenity, where he stood over her body. She spat out blood and tried to curl around her tortured stomach. Xavier went for the finishing blow but was interrupted by clawed hands grabbing onto his shoulders. His eyes widened and he was thrown away like nothing. 

He back cracked against the side of a car and it caused the window to crack. He knelt in the dust and looked up, just in time to see Beast helping Mystique to her feet. They exchanged a few words before she nodded. Then, he set his sights on Xavier. In a different time, he would've been afraid of that rage. That rage had destroyed lab after lab and almost killed Erik...twice. But, now? He didn't care. It made things. **More. Fun.**

Beast stalked forwards, not running, but simply walking. Xavier climbed to his feet, ignoring the way his vision swam. The man's thoughts were practically screaming with worry and regret and how much he didn't want to do this. It made Xavier get very close to giggling, or just reaching into that mind and having the other's heart stop. Once he was a few feet away, Beast simply paused and called out, "I know you're in there Professor. I don't want to hurt you if I don't have to."

"Oh, such a shame," Xavier swayed on his feet dangerously, but he never fell, Apocalypse would **never** let him fall due to his injuries, "because I really want to hurt you."

* * *

Jean and Scott were hiding in a building, or what was left of it. The walls were crumbling in on themselves and the wind caused by the girl outside wasn't helping them at all. A large piece of rock cracked against their hiding place before Jean finally whispered, "What do we do? She has us pinned."

"Can you draw her fire?" He asked, "Like project something?"

The girl shook her head, "No. The Professor is completely shielding them from all telepathic tricks. They'll see right through me."

"Great." He hissed out, twitching when another crack appeared on the wall, "She's going to fry us."

And then, Jean shivered when she felt her own telepathy latch onto a train of thought. _OhGod.ItHurts.I'mSorryCharles.ItHurtsItHurtsItHurts.SomeoneHelp!_ She blinked and suddenly found herself being poked and prodded by a worried looking Scott. She waved him off and bit out, "Erik is down. We have to help him...he's dying."

"I can draw Storm's fire."  Scott nodded, fingers resting on his glasses, "You go help Magneto. Got it? Get ready to go on my signal."

"What's the signal?"

"You'll know it when you see it." He said suddenly. He took a few deep breaths and then darted into the outside. His screams of "Hey! Look at me! I've seen better thunderstorms in the desert!"

Thunder rumbled and there was a flash of red and white colliding outside. Jean blinked against the assault of colors, but she took her chance and sprinted in the opposite direction from the fight. She was running towards the fading thoughts and towards a dying man. 

* * *

 

Beast ran at him, full speed and Xavier just barely had time to jump out of the way. He hit the dust and stuck out his foot. The fur-covered man tripped over it but he didn't smash his face into the car as the telepath had planned, instead, he used his hands to spring off of it. Xavier rolled out of the way as his feet slammed down into the ground where he had been only a moment prior. 

He knew how to win this fight. He couldn't beat out Beast on strength, so he'd have to wait until the man tired himself out. 

Hank threw a series of punches once he was up, but no hit ever landed. Xavier had danced away from all of them. He growled in such a ferocity that it reminded anyone of a cornered wolf. Xavier's hand brushed his temple and he was faintly aware of the presence he had been looking for getting closer. His grin got wide and he slid across a car hood, Beast tailing him. A clawed hand brushed his shoulder and it bounced off of the metal platings there. Xavier ignored the sound of claws breaking and Beast's pained howl.

He whipped around, using the motion to help his right hook. His fist smashed into Beast's jaw and he was sent staggering backwards. Xavier took the time to take a step back as Psylocke hit the ground in front of him. Their gazes met for a single moment and the two nodded in mutual agreement. Her sword dissolved into a whip and she lashed out. The purple energy wrapped around Beast's throat in an instant and she pulled, _hard._

The other man let out a strangled gasp of pain as Psylocke dragged him, his feet clawed at the ground in an attempt to stay still, but a kick to his knee from Xavier sent him falling. Psylocke had a grin on her face, "I got this one," she grunted as she tightened the whip, but continued anyway, "I saw one of the kids heading back towards the metal bender. Looks like he's not as dead as we wanted him to be."

Xavier glanced down at a struggling Hank and he felt something twist. He wanted to say something, to ask for her to let him go, but then he shook it off. **Kill them all.** He nodded at Psylocke, patted her on the shoulder and ran off. 

He jumped over rubble and sprinted across the wasteland like it was nothing, but the second he saw a familiar head of red hair, his eyes widened. He knew the perfect way to take this one out. He felt the borrowed power twist in his being and then, he was gone in a flash of purple. He reappeared a few feet in front of the girl and knelt down, she couldn't stop running. Her legs his him and she was set flying over him, upper body scraping against the torn concrete. 

"So much for being 'combat ready'," He commented as he stood. "I thought you could do better, who knows? Maybe I was wrong."

Jean rolled over, revealing a split lip and a bleeding scrape on her forehead. She swallowed and climbed to her feet, "Professor _please_."

"At least you have manners." Xavier growled as he stalked forward. He deftly knocked away the pieces of metal and rocks Jean had thrown at him. None of them were big enough to hurt him, she couldn't even hurt him subconsciously. "You can't even hit me? Pathetic."

She frowned and her fingers curled at her temples. Xavier's smile on widened. _Professor, stop._ He could feel the mental presence trying to force him to do something, but it wasn't working. He kept stalking forwards and the commands seemed to get more panicked. _Please stop. Don't do this!_ Xavier kept walking. _Professor, stop!_ And strange enough, her panicked thoughts were starting to get very annoying. 

His telepathy broke through her shields like it was nothing. **Stop it. Now.**

And she did. Her eyes went wide as her telepathy was suddenly cut off. Xavier had his eyes narrowed and was practically beaming at the way her confusion became her main thought. She raised her hand a large piece of concrete flew at him. It never hit him, though. His powers had practically tore into her and screamed, **You Won't Hurt Me.**

The concrete was thrown away and Xavier just kept walking towards her. He never got the chance to wrap his hands around her throat, though. There was a blast of energy at his feet and he was sent flying. He had hit a fallen section of a building and he hit the ground. His vision was blurring in and out and he could practically feel his brain rattle in his skull. He let out a hiss of pain. **Kill Them.**

He was faintly aware of Scott running towards Jean, glasses on and shouting something Xavier couldn't hear. **Kill Them.** The two stood together for a few moments before Jean sprinted away. **Kill Them.** Scott, on the other hand, turned towards him. **Kill Them.** His hands curled towards his glasses, **Kill Them** , but he didn't get the chance to fire. **Kill Them.** A flash of lightning sent him flying into a concrete slab. His back cracked against the pointed end of it. And he fell to the dust and he didn't get back up. 

"Xavier?" Storm breathed out the second she landed next to him, her hands were curling at his shoulders in her attempts to get him to stand, "Are you okay?"

He made a pained sound in the back of his throat but stood the second the command of **Get** **Up** thundered through his blood. She stared at him in actual worry, but the emotions drained away the second Apocalypse realized it was there. Xavier nodded, "Yeah." His face twitched and he blinked away the blurriness in his vision, but to no avail, "Two down." He took a breath before saying, "The helicopter landed."

Storm never got the chance to respond because that's when Apocalypse's voice grated into their heads. **My children, I am here.**

And, almost instantly, they both turned towards where the god himself was walking down the rubble. Bits of glass, body parts, and car parts moved away from him on their own as if he was parting the Red Sea. The god stalked across the destruction and made his way towards his horsemen. Xavier could feel the pain catching up to him, but he couldn't fall now. 

"Their numbers are dwindling." Spoke Apocalypse, eyes all for the two of them. "They will be crushed soon. You are doing well."

Storm nodded, but that's when the god turned his attention towards the now stirring form of Scott. There was a sobering moment when Xavier caught the tail end of the god's thoughts and intentions. He blinked. _NoNoNoNoNoNO._ **Stop.** And it was gone. The god picked up the twitching boy by the throat and held him up as if he was a piece of evidence that needed examining. "My son, you are lost."

Scott was clawing at Apocalypse's hand, but it did nothing. "You are lost because you follow blind leaders. But I'm here now. No more blind leaders."

The boy was choking now, making strangled but useless gasps for air. Xavier felt the twinge of guilt be buried deep and from the way Storm's posture straightened, she was the same way. And suddenly, the air crackled with energy. 

A red beam slammed Apocalypse straight in the chest and the god was sent flying out of sight and into what used to be a basement. Scott dropped to the ground and rolled over, retching and trying to replenish his lungs. The horsemen only turned towards the source in shock.

"Don't touch my brother," Alex Summers snarled angrily, his suit still smoking from the freshly fired plasma, "you son of a bitch."

* * *

 

Erik felt himself be rolled over by unknown hands and he was instantly in attack mode. His free and blood-stained hand lunged for his attacker's throat, but they never made it. Instead, a cool and feminine voice spoke into his thoughts, _Erik. Calm yourself, I'm not here to hurt you._

"Jean?" He coughed out, dropping his hand to cover his wound and her's covered his, "What are you doing here?"

"Helping you, obviously." She replied sweetly, trying to break the tension. She closed her eyes and focused on the blood flow and where it was coming from. Her eyes opened after a few moments, "It's not too deep. You're lucky. If we can stop the bleeding and get you to a hospital soon, you'll live."

"I knew it."

"Excuse me?"

Erik let out a small laugh and rested his head on the ground, eyes staring skyward, "I knew Charles couldn't kill me. He could've but he didn't!"

The metal-bender held out his hand and suddenly, bits of metal slapped against his palm. They melted and fused together along his palm. Jean shuddered when she felt the heat. "What are you doing?"

"Cauterizing it." Erik breathed out, he had been in enough knife fights over the years to know what to do. "It'll stop the bleeding, but I'm still going to need medical attention when this is done."

Jean nodded and watched as the metal-bender placed the heated metal against his flesh. There was a slight sizzling sound and Jean winced as Erik let out a shout of pain. After a few moments, he pulled the metal away and it fell from his hands. Jean helped him sit up and she held out her hand. Erik's helmet landed in her palm and she presented it to him. "Since you're thinking about going down there, you'll need this."

"Thanks," he nodded, taking the helmet and slipping it back on his head. Everything went painfully quiet and Jean pursed her lips as her telepathy hit it and simply bounced off. "how are the others?"

The girl closed her eyes and frowned, "Scott's down...Mystique is fighting off Psylocke to save Mr. McCoy and the others are going after Angel. We can't stop them...they're too powerful."

There was a flash of red and Erik looked up. Jean helped him to his feet, it took a few moments to stand on his own, but he did. "Don't worry, Jean. We'll find a way to stop them. I swear."

And she smiled, not something of sadness or laughter. It was a true smile, one of happiness. Sunlight in a thunderstorm. "You sound just like the Professor, you know that right?"

Erik smiled in return and staggered away, his steps getting stronger with every stride. Once he reached the ridge, he stared down at the others. Alex Summers was helping his brother to his feet while Charles and Storm just watched on. Jean was next to him as they slid down the ridge, carefully dodging the rubble littered about it. The two sprinted over to Alex and came to a stop next to him. 

"Alex," Erik blinked at him, "how are you here?"

"Moira had contacts." He explained, making sure his younger brother could stand on his own before continuing, "She managed to get us here without a hitch. I left Jubilee in charge of the kids back at the mansion. Parents are coming and helping out, same with CIA agents. Moira's back at the helicopter. She's going to airlift us out of here."

Jean blinked. "We can't leave! Not now."

There was a gust of wind and suddenly, Peter was next to them. There was a cut on his forehead and it bleed profusely, but other than that, he looked fine. "Jean's right. I'm not leaving. I literally just finished grappling with a dude who had knife wings. Do you think I'd really leave now?"

"Looks like she can wait a bit longer then," Alex replied, fighting off a grin, "but, I'm here to fight. What do you need me to do?"

"Go help Beast and Mystique." Erik growled out, "They're not doing too well. They're fighting someone called- _Get Down!_ "

He had grabbed the metal in all of their suits and dragged everyone away just as a bolt of lightning tore into the place they had been standing moments prior. They all turned to face Storm, who had a hand outstretched towards them. Charles was just examining the blood on his hands, the wound on his temple had broken open again and a fresh wave of blood was dripping down his face. Lightning danced along Storm's fingertips again and Alex pushed in front of all of them. Red gathered at his suit before firing. 

Lightning and plasma collided in an explosion in front of them. They stayed like that for a moment, both forces equally matched until they weren't. An explosion rocked the area and sent them all flying. Erik had managed to stop them from hitting anything dangerous, but they were all still picking themselves up off the dust. When the smoke cleared, Erik felt his stomach drop. 

Apocalypse himself was standing before them, acting as a shield between actual danger and his horsemen. None of them seemed to get any more damaged from that, the god had taken it all like it was nothing. "Why do you fight?"

They all stared at the question but he simply continued, "Why do you fight a world where things will be better? All of their false gods will be gone soon and we shall rise. Why do you fight the inevitable?"

"Because you're literally crazy!" Peter yelled suddenly, arms flailing as if the movement would help further his point, "Like, dude, seriously!"

"He has a point." Scott wheezed out.

"Enough of this," Apocalypse growled suddenly, his voice changing into something more terrible as his eyes went white, "you shall perish with humanity."

And then, the ground began to shake. There was a puff of smoke and Kurt appeared, a bleeding Mystique and Beast with him. The three of them seemed shocked at the new changes, but as the ground began to crack open and structures began to fall, their only concerns were not getting crushed. The horsemen didn't seem bothered by it, they just stood back as if it was an everyday thing. Erik had held out his hands in his efforts to keep the metal from hitting any of them, while Jean kept everything else at bay. 

But that was when the earth began to morph and change into something new. 

The ground had split and one side had moved upwards while the other fell. Alex and Scott had been separated and they were both clawing at the air to get to the other, while Peter had just managed to pull Erik back from a fall to his death. And then, just like that. It was done. The earth had been changed and now, half of their group was thirty feet above the other. Buildings had fallen and now, there was even more rubble decorating the area. 

Erik caught sight of Angel gliding down, Psylocke holding onto his hands as they circled downwards. The two landed next to the other horsemen. They appeared to exchange pleasantries because Angel clapped Storm on the back while Psylocke just nodded at Charles. The telepath told the others something Erik couldn't hear and suddenly, the battle had begun again. 

Storm and Psylocke had gone after the ones on the lower levels while Angel had grabbed onto Charles's hands and dragged him upwards into the air. Apocalypse stood back as if he was waiting for the right moment to attack. Angel and Charles had flown over their heads before the winged horseman deposited Charles on the ground. The telepath just stared at them, not doing anything just yet. 

"What do we do?" Alex breathed as Angel landed next to Charles. The younger man seemed sad when his eyes turned back to Erik from Charles, the two had been friends for decades at this point, "We could kill the Professor."

"Leave him to me," Erik whispered, eyes motioning to his helmet while Alex just stared at the thing in disdain, "he can't get in my head, so I can take him down easier. Peter, you and Alex go after Angel. Try to take him out."

"What about the others?" His son questioned, "They're kinda screwed."

It was Alex's turn to answer, "One battle at a time. Quick question, how hard can you punch?"

Peter blinked, eyes widening as he caught onto what Alex's was inferring. He nodded and disappeared, only for Angel to be knocked backwards with the force of Peter's punch. The winged horsemen kept getting knocked back, farther and farther until he was no help to Charles. Alex had chased after them, red energy already building up around him, but never being fired. 

"So, just you and me, again?" Charles called as he stared down Erik, "I thought I stabbed you."

"Well, you know how it is," Erik bit out but grinned nonetheless, "you just can't get rid of me."

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love all of your guys' support! It's really amazing and it really means a lot. :)

A calm serenity had washed over Erik at this point though he really couldn't tell the cause of it. Adrenaline or blood loss were high on his list. He swallowed against it as Charles dropped into a fighting stance. Deep down, he knew this was it. This was his last chance and if he couldn't snap Charles out of it now...then he'd have to kill him. He had made his peace with that. 

There was a flash of purple and Charles was gone, but Erik had already focused all of his power into magnetising the metal in the earth below them. He felt the field part as the telepath appeared behind him. Erik whipped around and just managed to catch Charles's punch. The horseman snarled suddenly and lashed out with his leg, foot easily sweeping Erik's feet out from under him. The metal-bender hit the ground but he was faintly aware of Charles twisting his arm behind him, Erik let out a shout of pain as his shoulder protested the movement. An inch or more of movement would cause his shoulder to dislocate. 

Charles seemed to take pleasure in twisting it just a hair further, not dislocating anything, just wanting to see pain. "I honestly wonder," he placed a foot between Erik's shoulder blades, effectively pinning him, "what happened to the man so willing to kill anyone with his bare hands? I distinctly remembering you shoving a coin through Shaw's head, so why can't you throw me? Pathetic, really."

And suddenly, Erik was on the battlefield. It was a sudden transition and the metal-bender found that the dust had transformed into the mud of Auschwitz under him. His eyes widened. He'd have to throw Shaw otherwise his mother would die. _One._ He reached for any metal he could and it responded instantly. _Two._ The metal of a pipe wrapped around Shaw's throat and it threw the man away. Erik rolled and lunged, pinning the other man with his hands.

"Three." Charles grinned from under him, eyes shining with something inhuman, "I knew you could do it!"

Erik blinked. He hadn't had an episode like that in years. So why now? He was panting and Charles seemed to be fighting off a laughing fit from under him. He blinked when he realised he felt something curling at his mind. _Telepathic abilities are often enhanced by touch,_ Emma Frost had once said, _So, sugar, do be careful if you're in a_ _fist fight_ _with one. That helmet might not do you as much good as you want it to._

The telepath went to say something else and Erik simply tightened the metal pipe around his neck. He jumped up, trying to put some distance between him and Charles. If he could send Erik into a PTSD-caused frenzy like that, what else could he do? Charles was clawing at the pipe, nails breaking in his attempts to get it off. Erik felt a twinge of guilt as he noticed the streaks of blood. 

There was a familiar flash of purple and the horseman disappeared, only to appear a few feet away, hand at his throat as if he was expecting the assault to continue. He was coughing and wheezing in his attempts to refill his lungs. Erik tried to squash the burning guilt that seemed to way him down, but it was practically useless at this point. Erik just stalked forwards, metal following as he tried to decide what to do next. 

"Charles," he called softly and the telepath's head snapped towards him, teeth bared and eyes black, "this is your last chance. You don't have to fight anymore."

He blinked away the black in his eyes but shudders kept crawling up his spine. After a few moments, he spat, "Over my dead body."

He disappeared in a flash of purple and Erik already sensed where he was to land, but it was too late. A boot crashed into his lower back and he was sent sprawling into the dirt. Charles let out a growl of rage before bringing his boot down onto Erik's spine again. The metal-bender let out a screech of pain. It was then he realised what Charles was trying to do. He was trying to do what had been done unto him. 

* * *

 

Alex sprinted after Peter and Angel as the silver-haired boy kept throwing the horseman backwards. Peter would speed out of the way just as Alex would fire and instead of jumping into the air and taking off, Angel was forced to use his metal wings as shields. The horseman let out an angered roar before lashing out with a wing, Peter was sent flying into the air before skidding to a stop in the dust.

"Peter!" He screeched when he noticed the blood dripping onto the earth, he tried to run to the other boy but Angel blocked his path, "Move!"

The horseman didn't budge. Instead, he just raised a wing at the writhing boy in the dust, ready to finish the fight. Alex let out a panicked shout and suddenly, there was a burst of unfocused plasma. Angel barely had time to put his wings up in defence before he was sent flying backwards. He took his chance to sprint towards Peter. Once he was there, he knelt down and turned the boy over. His stomach dropped when he saw the damage.

There was a large wound running diagonal across the boy's chest from shoulder to hip. Alex blinked and then, he wasn't in Egypt. He was back in Vietnam, the rain was pouring around him and his hands were trying to stop the blood flow off of Sean. His friend was pale and turning grey and shaking. There was too much blood and Sean was screeching in agony. Alex couldn't save him. There was too much blood. There was too much screaming. There was too much gunfire. And then, he was back in Egypt. Alex blinked away the episode with a shudder.

He could still feel his heart pounding in his chest, but he had to ignore it. There were more important things to worry about.

"Peter?" He asked, voice getting slightly louder in fear, "Peter can you hear me?"

The silver-haired boy groaned before letting out a hiss of pain as Alex applied pressure on the wound. Peter groaned, "Man, those hurt."

"You're lucky," Alex explained lightly despite the amount of blood staining his hands, "he must've clipped you with the edge of his wing. It's not too deep, I'm sure you'll live. You hear me, Peter? Just stay awake and focus on me, okay?"

He nodded and then, rested his head on the earth. His eyes were staring skyward but his breathing was still strong. Alex frowned. They were going to need medical attention at this rate. He knew that if Peter got attention soon he would live, but have a pretty kickass scar. Peter blinked, "Dude, Egypt has some pretty huge vultures."

"Huh?"

"Like seriously," Peter explained, tossing his hand in the direction of the air, "they're huge and they have some pretty weird wings. Dude, do you think the Prof will let us get one once this is over?"

Alex's head snapped up and he saw Angel circling, slowly getting lower and lower. The elder man stood and his eyes narrowed, he had to find a way to knock Angel out of the air otherwise, they were sitting ducks in the open like this. Instead of focusing the blast in a stream like he usually did, he called back the familiar rings of plasma. He swung his body and sent one arcing upwards, followed by a second, then a third, then a fourth and so on and so forth. Angel managed to dodge most of them, but he tried to take a sharp turn and ran straight into one. It sent the winged horsemen crashing in the broken windows of the building above them. 

He knelt down immediately, reaching for his earpiece that kept him connected to Moira. "Moira, it's me, Alex. Are you there?"

"Yes, I'm here." Her voice crackled over the radio, "What's happened?"

"We need medical attention, now." Alex explained, words rushing and jumbling together in his panic, "Peter's down and Erik is about there. I don't know about the others. Moira, please. What can you do?"

There was a moment of silence, "If you can get to the helicopter, we have medical supplies. We can't take off, those horsemen will take us down."

"Understood."

 **Why are you running? Only cowards run.** Alex shivered as Apocalypse's voice tore through his head. It was grating and he felt like he was going to be sick. He had to give kudos to the Prof for holding out as long as he did with this voice thrumming through his skull. Alex hissed in pain but he could only stare upwards as the building began to shake. His eyes went wide as its metal support beams seemed to twist in on themselves. 

And, the building was falling straight towards them.

* * *

 

Xavier stopped his attack the second he saw the building began to fall. His eyes went wide and he staggered backwards, the sudden worry overcoming the rage he had been acting out with. Erik propped himself up but his eyes went wide as the huge building began to twist. It took the telepath a few seconds if that to pinpoint the minds in range of the debris field. Alex, Peter, Warren- **Angel.**

His eyes went wide. Erik scream of "Alex! Peter!" drowned out his frightened screech of "Warren!" He blinked and the world he saw tipped away into something else. 

 

_He was scared._

_One of his wings were pinned under a fallen concrete pillar and he couldn't move it. He let out a shout of pain as he tried to wretch_ _himself free, but to no avail. He was screaming and no one was hearing him. He could feel the heat from the plasma burning his skin and already beginning to blister. With another shout of pain, he tore his pinned wing free. He stood, swaying as he did, but he was still standing._

_He tried to run towards the windows, but the building twisted suddenly and he felt himself falling to the floor. He slid across the floor, wings scrabbling at the floors and walls as he tried to get a hold. He let out a pained screech as something stabbed into his body and his wings let go. He was sent falling against one of the few non-broken windows. He hissed as his pain blurred._

_The metal pipe had stabbed him quite efficiently in the side and crimson was already dripping onto the glass. He could feel the advanced healing he had been gifted with kick in and work overtime in its efforts to keep him alive and stop the bleeding. It was no use. He had been run through. Angel the horseman had dissolved into a terrified little boy named Warren._

Oh god, I don't want to die! _He screamed out mentally, hoping Charles would hear him._ Please. Help!

 _In an instant, that warm presence curled into his mind. Soothing and sharpening his senses, using him to try and find a way out. He let out a shuddering breath,_ I'm not going to make it. Just...let me help them.

_Charles's mental presence stopped suddenly, it curled, went icy before the warmth broke through again. Warren blinked as an image of the boys he had been fighting was pushed into his brain. He nodded and felt Charles's telepathy block out the pain that rocked his system. He slammed his wings against the glass and it shattered. He dropped and spun, spreading his wings and diving._

_The smaller wings that had once been his ribs steered him and kept him steady while he reached out his hands towards them. One hand grabbed the strap on the back of the blonde's shirt while his other latched around the belt of the silver-haired one. He felt every metallic feather strain as he managed to pull them to safety. The building had crashed into the ground, concrete shattering and glass falling like rain. Dust formed a cloud but it never touched any of them, Storm had seen to that._

_Warren tossed the two away as his wings gave out. He hit the dust and skidded to a stop, wings splayed out and blood already forming a puddle. He looked up at the shocked faces of the other two. He let out a sigh and rested his tattooed face against the strangely cold earth. He blinked and then realized, he hadn't felt Apocalypse's presence, Charles had blocked him out completely. So, gone was the horseman and left in its place was boy who was so scared of dying._

_"You know, Charles," he breathed, feeling his appendages start to tingle as Apocalypse broke through to his horseman of war, "you're pretty cool."_

_And then, everything went black._

 

Xavier blinked and stepped back. He had to tear his telepathy from Angel's-no, _Warren's_ dying mind in order to stop his own mind from following. He could feel himself shaking and trembling and sweating as his telepathy searched for the boy's mind. He felt sick when he felt Peter's and Alex's shock. He staggered away, Erik's wide eyes watching him in shock as he tried to reach out to the other horsemen. They were all feeling the effects and had stopped their fights. 

 **Useless.** Xavier gritted his teeth when Apocalypse's voice tore into his head. **KillThem.KillAllOfThem.**

He blinked when he felt the god's presence wane suddenly, the energy spent keeping Charles in check was starting to catch up to him. He blinked and stared over the edge, eyes locating Storm and Psylocke instantly. They had stopped and were staring upwards at where the building had fallen, as were the others.

**KillThem.HeWasUseless.HeWasWeak.WeWillFindANewOne.KillAllOfThem.**

Xavier blinked against it and suddenly, with a shocking amount of strength, threw up a defense.

 _OroroAndCharles._ **YouCan'tDefeatMeThisWay.** _I'mStrongerThanYou._ **YouCan'tWin.** He could feel Erik's eyes boring into his back as he hunched over, hand at his temple. He could also faintly hear the sound of ringing metal. 

Xavier gritted his teeth and felt the sickening pain of the god's presence wrap around his mind. There was a single moment when he felt Apocalypse's presence die away and he blinked. Everything was clear and he could see the destruction. The destruction that he had caused. His heart dropped and he was _horrified._ But that's when the presence bit into his telepathy, much like a snake would. The god's presence curled in on his and slowly began to suffocate his resistance. 

**NoMoreFalseGods.** _MyNameIsCharlesXavier._ **ThereAreNoMoreSuperPowers.** _IWillNotBreak._ **HeWasWeak.LetHimGo.WeWillFindANewHorsemanOfWar.** _HisNameWasWarren!_

He felt a spike of determination, then the same someone asking for forgiveness behind him and he turned to see it. But that was his biggest mistake. Bits of metal cut into the air around him, stabbing into his body and causing his mental defense to drop. Apocalypse tore into him once he found the weakness. It took Xavier a moment to realize that his feet had left the edge and he fell out of sight.

* * *

 

Storm had blinked, stopping her fight instantly the second the building hit the ground. Her eyes went wide and she pushed her lightning away, sending the beam of plasma crashing into the rubble of a fallen building. She heard a gasp from behind her, but she didn't know who gave it off. Her eyes were all for the chaos unfolding above. Psylocke was at her side in an instant and the two women just watched.

The white crested girl had held out her hand, stopping the cloud of dust before it could consume anything. With a practiced motion, she sent it billowing up into the atmosphere. But that's when she staggered backward.

Something had been torn from her chest and she could feel her thoughts spiralling out of control. She couldn't find the rage she had been fighting with moments earlier or the loyalty to Apocalypse that had been thundering in her blood. Instead, she felt grief. It was sudden and animalistic and it tore through her being. She didn't realise that she was crying until she felt tears drip onto her clothing.

"Warren..." Psylocke bit out, eyes watering but no tears fell. The purple energy wavered, dimmed and then dissolved, leaving her holding her sword in trembling hands, "he's dead."

Storm blinked and stared at the other woman. Their eyes widened when they realised what they had missed. Neither of them could feel Apocalypse's presence in their head, they had been freed. The only thing they could feel was a spiralling presence that both women guessed to be Charles.

"Alex and Peter are okay." Whispered the red-headed girl from behind them, "Peter's hurt, though."

Everyone's trains of thought shattered when Apocalypse snarled out, "Useless." 

Psylocke and Storm turned slowly towards the god, eyes wide at the shock of him damning the now-dead Warren. Psylocke felt a spike of rage and Storm had to force herself not to attack. Warren had died for a cause he didn't even believe in, let alone want to be a part of. And now Apocalypse didn't even bat an eye at the loss of his horseman. The two women made eye contact and nodded in mutual agreement. They would wait for Charles.

Storm tore her gaze away from the other horseman just in time to see Charles's form stagger at the edge of the cliff before silver glinted in the sunlight. There was a flash of blood in the daylight and he fell. Her eyes widened and she focused on the power curling at her fingertips. The wind began to pick up and she focused it on the falling figure. Charles's descent slowed drastically and by the time he landed on the ground, the fear of his dying due to the fall had died down completely. 

The horsemen breathed a sigh of relief, but it didn't last long. Apocalypse snarled and began to stalk forward. It was nearly impossible to tell what the god was planning to do, but everyone could tell it wasn't good. Storm could feel herself wanting to help the others, but she knew if she acted on it, Apocalypse would take control back. She couldn't risk it, not while the god didn't even realise that she had freedom.

The boy with the glasses had slipped them off and fired at the god. Apocalypse had flicked the beam away as if it was nothing. The teleporter had grabbed onto each one of his friends before he disappeared, only to return for the next. In took only a few moments for the opposing forces to be gone. And it was just the female horsemen left alone with the god. Storm shivered, feeling the same presence crawl up her spine, but this time, it was different. Previously, she didn't have a choice in what she was to do, but now, she didn't have to do anything. It was merely a train of thought that pricked the edge of making her _want_ to do something. 

The two women could only watch as Apocalypse stalked forwards, arms being thrown wide. And the earth began to shake and shift. Storm shuddered, she didn't have to be in Apocalypse's head to know whatever he was doing was happening worldwide. She swallowed, they'd need a miracle to stop him now and if they couldn't find one, the world would end before the sun set.


	9. Chapter 9

Erik blinked, eyes watching in shock as Charles fell out of sight. He glanced down to his shaking and outstretched hand, heart hammering in his ears. He sucked in a breath, the sudden sense of dread seemed to weigh him down almost instantly. He shook his head, clearing it of his stupor. He couldn't believe he had done it, but the second he had seen Charles hunch over with hands at his temples, he had just _reacted_. 

He could still feel the way the metal had easily pierced through armor and metal, he could still feel the way that blood heated it up. He swallowed against the guilt, but it did nothing. So, Erik simply lunged for the edge. His hands scrabbled at the broken rock, but he ignored the way it sliced into his palms. His eyes widened once he saw the small form of Charles lying on the rocks below, the telepath had curled in on himself and wasn't moving. 

So, he did what anyone else would and jumped. He used the metal in his suit to slow him down until his feet simply tapped against the rubble. In an instant, he was running for Charles and the second he was at his friend's side, he knelt down with wide eyes. 

"Charles?" He whispered, voice cracking with emotion, "Charles?"

The telepath didn't even react to him, instead, his eyebrows twitched and the line on his face become more pronounced. The metal-bender blinked and then looked up at the figures just beyond the broken bits of cars and buildings. Erik swallowed and his hands curled around Charles's forearm. Apocalypse wasn't getting to him, Erik would make sure of that. 

But, there was a moment where the sounds of the battle faded and Erik found himself somewhere else. 

 _He was back in the Xavier Mansion, but there was no sunlight, instead, everything in they foyer was tinged with a bluish-grey hue. Erik blinked, he could feel the hardness of the floor or the chill of the empty_ _air, but other than that, his mind kept screaming_ 'Fake Fake Fake!'. _It was surreal and despite the sudden calmness that numbed everything, he could feel the screams of bitter agony underneath._

_"Erik? How are you here?"_

_He turned to Charles in front of him, wearing dress pants and a lilac sweater. His hair looked slightly disheveled and in the half light, he seemed ghostly. The telepath was standing, not that Erik was surprised anymore. "Charles, where are we?"_

_"An astral plane," and at Erik's incredulous look, the shorter man smiled wide and clarified, "a manifestation of my mind, to be more exact. It appears that I must've dragged you here the second you touched me. Apologies, my friend."_

_"I'm wearing the helmet..."_

_"And I still have the powers of a horseman, I can get into your head helmet or not." Charles explained quickly, his eyes darted at the doors behind Erik, "I must be scaring everyone. I am sorry for that."_

_Erik blinked, "No one blames you. And no one will blame once we destroy Apocalypse. Charles, listen to me, how do we stop him?"_

_Blue eyes went downcast and the telepath simply bowed his head, shoulders hunching in a way that filled the other man with dread. "I don't know. He's too powerful. I'm shielding the best I can just to keep this corner of my mind safe."_

_There was a sudden crash against the door and for a single moment, the serene backdrop of the mansion turned into a black nothingness before quickly transferring back. Erik stared wide eyed at the door but Charles just let loose a single sigh. "He's still trying to get in. I can't hold him off forever."_

_"Charles," Erik stated, turning to the telepath and looking the shorter man in the eye, "please. Tell me how to help you."_

_"You can't."_

_"Why?"_

_"It's a losing battle and if he gets in while we're both here...then, he won't need to look very far for Warren's or my replacement."_

_Erik pursed his lips and again, the presence crashed against the door. Charles let out a hiss but didn't waver. "What about Storm and Psylocke?"_

_"Apocalypse is pouring all of his remaining energy in trying to break this last defense...and also causing massive destruction worldwide." The telepath explained quickly, he was slowly stepping away from the door as if he was expecting it to fail at any moment, which was a large possibility, "He's barely trying to control them."_

_And then, he was suddenly assaulted by memories that weren't his._

_Storm-no, Ororo, was standing at Charles's side, laughing at something Warren had said. Psylocke was teaching the telepath the correct way to swing a sword and she was letting him use her's as a practice weapon. The two women listened with a strange eagerness as he explained the science behind their mutations. They all told stories of their old lives under the stars as they waited for the world to end. Warren was holding onto their hands as he tried to see how much he could carry. They were all covering their ears and screaming against the presence that kept wanting them to kill. Ororo was using her abilities to blow a cold wind in against the Cairo heat._

_Erik felt himself smile at the memories. So, this was what happened when Apocalypse's powers waned? They became themselves but still different. Charles spoke up suddenly, "They're good people under a bad influence. Please, Erik, don't kill them."_

_"I won't if I don't have to."_

_The telepath smiled wide and Erik could've sworn that he felt warm sunlight at that moment. And then, the smile dropped and Charles suddenly looked so very scared. He had gone pale and he suddenly said, "You have to leave."_

_"What?"_

_The presence smashed against the door yet again and Erik could see the darkness curling in through the cracks. He swallowed. Charles lunged at him, eyes wide and he placed a small hand against Erik's face, fingertips brushing his temple. "Sorry."_

Erik opened his eyes to the blistering sunlight of Cairo. He instantly looked down at the pained expression of the telepath. His eyes went wide at the way Charles's breathing had become labored with pain. What happened next was a split second decision on Erik's part. He slipped Shaw's helmet from his head and after lifting the telepath's head ever so slightly, he placed in on Charles's head. 

The reaction was instantaneous.

Blue eyes snapped open and if Erik hadn't stopped him, Charles would have sat up. The telepath panicked for a few moments before he realized what was happening. He just touched the metal of the helmet with a bleeding hand. "He broke the door...but I can't feel him with this."

An angered roar from across the rubble field alerted them that Apocalypse had realized it too. Erik blinked in shock, no, _fear_ as the god whirled around in their direction. Charles tensed and Erik's first reaction was to gather the telepath in his lap, using his own body as a shield should the god go to attack. He could see Apocalypse starting to prowl forward, the air crackling around him with anger. 

"He'll kill you." Charles breathed.

"But he's not going to touch you," Erik growled, eyes narrowing, "and that's a promise."

And then, suddenly, there was Kurt. The boy had appeared in a cloud of sulfur before grabbing into both of them. Their world dissolved in a cloud of blue before they found themselves in a room with the windows covered. Sunlight filtered in, but there was no doubt that they were still in Cairo. 

"Charles?" Mystique breathed, golden eyes widening once she caught sight of her brother, "Oh my god. Charles!"

She lunged at the two of them, but instead of launching into a defense, she threw her arms around her older brother. Charles blinked at the contact, but as Mystique held on tighter, he simply hugged her back. The girl let out a shaking breath, still muttering obscenities into his chest. "It's fine, Raven. See? I'm here."

"And wearing my dad's gaudy helmet." Peter wheezed from the other side of the room. He had a pink cloth wrapped tightly around his chest and in some parts, it was beginning to stain a shade of purple. "Hey, Prof. Good to see you."

Jean and Scott were staring at the Professor in shock. They were doing their best to see to the injury on Hank's leg, while the man himself just gaped. Alex let out a relieved sigh, "Charles, good to see you."

"You too, Alex."

"What do we do?" Kurt asked suddenly, yellow eyes going wide as his tail lashed from side to side in nervousness, "He's angry."

Scott pursed his lips but bit out, "We can't leave now. We're too far in!"

Mystique pulled away from her brother and let out a shaky breath, "Scott's right. We'll need a plan."

"Well," Charles looked up from over the edges of the helmet, a smile playing on his bruised features, "I think I have an idea."

* * *

 

To say that Apocalypse was angry was an understatement. Storm had physically flinched when Charles's mental presence had been completely cut off and as a result, the god had paused his earth changing move, just to destroy the metal-bender. But, a blue-skinned boy with a tail had appeared and all three of them were gone. The god had rounded as his remaining horsemen, that action causing Psylocke to put a hand on her sword should he turn his anger on them. 

"Find them." The god commanded angrily, his powers curled around him and they became like a poised viper, " **Now.** "

The two women had practically leapt out of their skin in order to follow the command. Their pace had been quick and panicked, not careful. Psylocke jumped from broken piece of earth to broken piece of earth because if she fell into once, she'd never be seen again. Storm, on the other hand, used the wind to give her jumps height. 

"Where do you think they went?" Psylocke called, voice quiet and guarded as she tried to throw some sort of mental defense up, but to no avail, "They couldn't have left Cairo. Their group has too many people for that teleporter to take all at once."

Storm had flinched, failing to think of anything else other than their assigned task. "True. Probably in one of the buildings still standing. Has to have a lot of room and plenty of cover. They have wounded."

The two women nodded at one another, but that's when they felt something else curl into their minds. And suddenly, they were standing still and then falling to somewhere else.

_Storm found herself standing in the biggest foyer she had ever seen. Her eyes went wide, staring at the intricate designs of the place while Psylocke only turned to take it all in. The sword-wielder remained poised to strike, but Storm found herself to be unnaturally calm in the blue-grey house. She blinked when Charles appeared before them. Not Xavier, not the horseman she had dealt with, but the Professor. He wasn't wearing his armor and after a second glance, neither were they. The appeared all appeared in the clothing they had worn before Apocalypse stepped in._

_"Xavier," Psylocke ground out, eyes darting between the man and the house and back again, "what is this?"_

_"A manifestation of my mind," he explained, Storm made a face, "but Apocalypse can't get us here. I can promise you that."_

_The youngest member of their group blinked. "How did you get us here? We were in Cairo."_

_"We still are," the Professor explained, keeping the explanation part short and simple, "but I managed to use our mental connection to drag your minds here. I'm not going to do anything to you, we just need to figure out a way to end this."_

_"And kill Apocalypse?" Psylocke raised an eyebrow._

_Charles nodded. "Yes. I've always said I would do what is needed to keep people safe and to do that, I need to kill Apocalypse."_

_Storm deflated and glanced at the front doors. They were wide open and a dark cloud was clawing its way inside, but it had stopped almost instantly, leaving a cloud that never moved. "How? He would stop our resistance instantly. We're puppets to him."_

_"Not when I'm protecting you." The telepath smiled suddenly, "If you two can keep fighting him physically and I fight him mentally, then he can't strip our powers. We'd still have the power boosts."_

_Psylocke's dark eyes narrowed, "And what are you planning?"_

_"I'm going to let him in here." Charles said in a matter-of-fact tone, despite the shocked gazes of the other horsemen, "There is still a part of my mind connected to his from the failed transcendence. I can get into his head."_

_"You wouldn't be able to stop him, though," Storm spoke up, eyes wide, "he has the power of a god. You only have a small part of that. Besides, he has the belief of those who follow him."_

_"So do I." Charles pointed out and Storm shrugged, accepting his point._

_"It's suicide." Psylocke pointed out._

_"I know, but it's the only way to destroy him completely."_

* * *

 

The building that they had all been hiding in broke away in an instant, leaving a very stunned group of opposition fighters staring at the face of Apocalypse. The god was smiling up at them as he through the remaining half away with ease. His horsemen were at his side, one with her sword drawn and other with lightning at her fingertips. Erik felt his body get weighed down with dread at the sight, but then he glanced down at Charles, who was staring outside as well, helmet perched on his head. 

"My children," Apocalypse hissed dangerously, voice echoing with power, "your resistance is finished. This is where you fall and I rise."

"Erik," Charles breathed, blue eyes strikingly beautiful in the sunlight, "please, you have to keep him fighting physically. If we can attack him from both fronts, then he'll go down faster."

"Remind me never to go to war against you." Erik grinned, placing his fingers on the helmet and after receiving a nod from Charles, he took it off of the telepath. "Don't worry, we'll be doing out best out here."

Charles rested his head on the floor but before he could do anything, Erik leaned down and pressed his lips to the telepath's forehead. When he sat up, Charles was smiling, Raven, Hank and Alex all shared the expression that said _'It's about damn time'_. The children just stared, some surprised others not. Erik flushed scarlet but he stood, placing the helmet back on his own head as he did so. He stalked to the other edge of the building and stared down at the god.

"Oh," Apocalypse practically purred, "are you willing to join us, my son?"

Erik's eyes narrowed and he held out his hand. A steel beam impaled the ground, followed by a second. Apocalypse just gaped while the two other horsemen smirked with an emotion he couldn't quite tell. 

The X stood in front of them, a symbol of protection, a symbol of what they were to become and the symbol of who they were all protecting. It was the virtue to which they all aspired. He could feel the others gathering at his back, effectively forming a wall between the god and his missing horseman.

"All of you want to die? How shameful." Apocalypse growled out, "But, if that's what you want to do, then so be it."

He motioned with his hand for his horsemen to attack and the two women stalked forward, but they still remained a few feet behind him. The air crackled with energy as lightning gathered at the edges of Storm's body and there was a purple glow as Psylocke's sword was bathed in a purple glow. There were murmurs from the opposition of running or offense, but Erik calmed them by raising a hand.

His eyes met Storm's and she nodded. 

And in an instant, she turned on her heel and fired. Straight at Apocalypse. The god was thrown by the force of it, but Psylocke lunged forward, blade swinging in a powerful arc just in time to cut straight into the god's throat. She darted away as Apocalypse hit the ground and rolled, but the others only took it as their opportunity to join the fight. Hank jumped down, Alex and Mystique with him while Erik lowered the others down.

He jumped down, landing next to the children. Apocalypse climbed to his feet, the slash in his throat that revealed tissue and muscle was already stitching itself back together. Erik blinked, so that must've been the power he used to fix Charles's spine. It was a few more moments and then, Apocalypse was staring at all of them, in either shock or anger, Erik couldn't tell. "Why have you betrayed me?"

Storm sized up, eyes going white as she spat out, "No, you made us betray them."

Psylocke spun her sword in her grip and called out, "Besides, Xavier's the one I would follow, not you."

The god let out a snarl and went to hold up his hand, but Alex fired off a blast of red plasma that sent him flying. The two brothers high fived and they all proceeded to move towards the god, powers crackling as they waited for the god's offense. Erik swallowed and with a nod from Hank after the furred man had pointed at the ground, he knew what to do. 

Erik stalked forwards, a rage and serenity like he had never known coating his thoughts. Magda's and Nina's twisted bodies in the grass. His and Magda's wedding night. Shaw for killing his mother. His follower's comradeship to Erik once Shaw was dead. The world for being unable to accept Raven. Mystique for getting strong in a way no one could teach her to be. Charles for his habit of being naive. Charles for being the one person who accepted. 

And, the earth moved at his feet.

He could feel it now. A million different metals, all calling out to him as they twisted in their varying positions in the rock at their feet. He could feel his mind stretching out to each of them, beckoning to him, begging to be used. He wrapped his presence around each and every one of them and then simply, magnetizing them. Erik had never felt power like this before. He was moving the earth like it was nothing. He could feel his presence expanding miles as his powers hooked its claws into metal object after metal object. 

He could hear the sounds of the battle in front of him, but it was like he wasn't even there. It was like his mind had been attached to a helium balloon, the only thing keeping him grounded was a flimsy string. And he prayed it didn't snap.

And now, he moved the metal. All of it. He could feel the ground breaking apart, metal rising into the air and circling into an electromagnetic field all over the battlefield. Some of the students gaped in shock while others just watched in awe. Erik, in response, just threw his head back, arms cast wide. And as it all twisted into the sky above them, he screamed. 

He gathered his all of his memories and held them tight. He gathered everything he could mentally and used it to ground him, but he knew what he had to do next. It was the only way to get an advantage at this point.

So, Erik let go.

* * *

 

Charles rested his head against the ground, mind curling outwards as he reached for the darkness in his mind. He reached for it. He grabbed it. He pulled it in. The telepath could feel Apocalypse's confusion at his actions, but in return, Charles only hissed, "Thanks for letting me in."

_And he was in a plane of swirling monotone. Grays, whites, and blacks all swirled around him and there was no ground. No place. Just this. The only things there was Charles himself and Apocalypse. The god stared at him and finally chuckled, "Charles, you don't have to do this. You can let go. You don't have to die for this."_

_The telepath shook his head and stalked forwards, rage and serenity burning through him. Charles had never felt godhood before, so this was all new to him. The powers he had been granted were only a fraction of Apocalypse's true potential, so Charles latched onto it. He grabbed godhood. He tore it down from its throne. He immersed himself in it and he, simply, became._

_"You want what I have?" Charles spat, power reverberating through his tone as he placed his hands on either side of the god's head, "You want to feel what I feel?"_

_And, then, he reached out to every shield he had ever had. The thin shields that kept small thoughts out and the strongest ones that even other telepaths couldn't break. He reached out to all of them and simply, shattered all of them._

_Apocalypse's eyes widened as the thoughts of everything tore into him and soon, he fell to his knees in pain. It was a hurricane and both mental powers were swept away. Until, Charles, with the all the rage he felt, he delivered a strong right hook to the god's jaw. The monotone plane fell into the halls of Xavier Mansion and Charles struck again, quick and powerful thanks to his years of boxing as a child._

_And with a sudden serenity, he grabbed the god by the jaw, forcing him to look at him. Charles leaned down and simply spat, **"You're in my house now."**_


	10. Chapter 10

Erik had never felt power like this before. It burned into his muscles and crawled on his spine. It flowed through his veins and he could feel each piece of metal thrum along to the beat of his heart. There was no stopping him now. He had long since past the point of physical exertion. The only thing reminding him that he was still him was the small pulses of pain that sent shockwaves through his system. If those disappeared, he wouldn't come back down. He couldn't. 

The earth crawled away in its attempts to make room for the metal being pulled from below, but it didn't help much. Metal circled around him, forming a field and he could feel the heat of everything. Iron. Copper. Titanium. Steel. _Everything._ Their make up. The pulls of their electrical fields. He could feel it. And he was a part of it. The sky was a clear blue, but the glinting of metals in the sunlight made it glow with an unearthly color. 

His presence was everywhere.

And there was no stopping it.

He could feel the pulls of the organic metals. Charles was breathing. Psylocke was sweating. Storm was heating up with the use of her lightning. Warren's armor wasn't heated by body heat, simply sunlight shining upon the corpse. Erik blinked. And delved further. And he felt it. Something was circling in them, no, everyone. He could feel it, twisting and crawling and moving along to a beat. 

The iron in their blood was calling out to him. Begging to be used. He ignored it, to the best of his abilities. Instead, he focused on Apocalypse.

The god was trying to fight off the attacks, but he couldn't. There were too many. He would be knocked one way by a plasma blast, only to be cut into with a sword, followed by lightning. The process repeated. Over. And Over. Rinse and Repeat. There was a moment when Jean grabbed at Scott, pointing at Erik before they all retreated backwards. One of them, probably Hank, yelled something at the metal-bender, but he couldn't hear them over the sounds of their own heartbeats. 

"A fine horseman you would've been." The god commented, spitting black blood onto the concrete. He simply watched the way the metal circled around in the magnetic fields and all of the pieces began to get closer and closer, each circling like a predator. "Such a shame you waste yourself on them."

"Me, a horseman?" Erik growled out, metal vibrating ominously with every word, "Not in this life."

"Why?"

" _You're the reason my family is dead._ "

And that was true. It had taken him days to figure it out. Apocalypse's awakening had caused the earthquakes that toppled his house on his family. This god was the reason he lost everything. So, Erik had made the decision to help take everything from him. Apocalypse blinked up at him as if confused, but Erik didn't care. He held out his hand and suddenly, the god was pelted with bits of sharpened metal. Some pieces went straight through, others got caught in his body, while most were stopped mid-flight when Apocalypse raised his hand.

Erik simply smirked. And suddenly, the earth at the god's feet parted. Metal sprung from the cracks and impaled the body, going all the way through and sending black blood into the air. The god let out a wheezing breath, blood falling from his open mouth. Erik didn't feel guilt for it. Instead, he grabbed onto every piece of metal in that general area, _ArmorIronSteelArmor_ , and pulled it upwards.

There was an instance where everything went quiet, but it was broken by the screeching sounds of Apocalypse as he was pulled upwards by the things impaling him. He writhed for a few moments, but Erik only manipulated the metal further. Silver points appeared through leather and blue skin. And Erik dropped him. The god hit the ground with a hollow thud, but that didn't stop the others from attacking further. 

Jean held him up, Scott fired and the god was sent falling backward. The dust was now spotted with white, brown, grey and black. But, before anyone else could attack, there was a flash of purple and he was gone. Erik blinked, feeling outwards for the pull of new metal but he never got the chance to finish his search. The earth cracked and split below. Mystique let out an awful screeching sound as the rock gave way and she fell.

Only for Hank to grab onto her hand, his feet scrabbling at the rocks in his attempt to hold on. Mystique looked up with golden eyes, "Don't let go!"

"I'm never letting you go, understand?" Hank shouted back, he tried to pull her up, but the rocks gave way at the combined weight as it shifted. The beast of a man grabbed onto the shapeshifter's body, but they didn't fall very fall. Instead, a whip of purple energy wrapped around their midsections. The two looked up with eyes comically wide. 

Psylocke was just barely holding them, her teeth were gritted and her hands were shaking, but she was managing. "Like hell you're dying."

Alex ran, arms wrapping around Psylocke as he helped pull them up. Once the two blue mutants were back on solid earth, Psylocke and Alex both collapsed. The whip dissolved and there was a second of peace. Erik lowered himself to the ground, being mindful of the unstable rock since it could give way at any moment. Mystique gave Hank a tight hug before letting go, both of their cheeks were dusted with a darker blue than usual. 

"Where did he go?" Alex breathed, climbing to his feet while Storm helped Psylocke up, "He couldn't have gone far."

"He's not by the Professor." Jean rattled off, eyes far away as she focused on the psychic readings, "Peter's making sure of that. He's still here. I can feel him."

"Something's wrong with him." Storm breathed out, eyes darting around in her attempts to locate the god, "He would've controlled our powers by now. Usually, he would've just reached into one of our heads and would force us to use our powers on one another. But he hasn't."

Erik frowned in thought, but when he looked up, there was a smile playing on his lips. "It appears that Charles's plan is working."

* * *

 

Charles shoved the god away, only to strike another punch. Apocalypse let out a hiss but made no move to get away or even fight back. He couldn't. The onslaught of foreign minds was proving their taxing effects on the god. The telepath landed another punch to the god, but instead of going in for another, he kicked the older being in the sternum. Apocalypse let out a shocked breath as he was knocked backwards by the kick. He looked up at Charles from his position on the floor. 

"I was going to save us." He hissed out, "I thought that's what you wanted."

"We don't need saving. We're living our second chance." Charles blinked, stalking forward all the while, "You're just feeding on the spoils of it."

The god climbed up to a kneeling position but he continued speaking, "They cause you so much pain. I can take it away. That's what you agreed to when you became my horseman. Why would you change now?"

And Charles paused at the question. He blinked. He could feel that familiar presence beginning to crawl on his back. By letting Apocalypse in, he had also made himself susceptible to the god's abilities. The telepath gritted his teeth against it. "Because they helped me realise what I was doing was wrong."

Charles went in for another strike but blinked in shock when Apocalypse caught it. The god looked up, eyes going white as he grinned, "You're going to need a bigger house."

There was a sudden pain as his hand was crushed in his opponent's grip. He could feel his mind reeling from the pain, but he couldn't stop now. The god began to shift, growing larger with every passing moment until he had the telepath pinned under his hand with ease. Charles was faintly aware of being thrown, only to hit the marble pillar of his astral projection. His eyes widened as he was showered with memories. 

_He was in the forest, gun in hand as gunfire echoed around them like rain. It was painful to hear and even worse to feel the echoes as men's minds were absorbed into the sucking darkness. The Korean air was thick and humid, but he had long since grown used to it. The telepath winced as an explosion sent men toppling away from a few feet away. He fired. Heard a Scream. Felt silence. Another American soldier yelled at him to get back, to retreat to somewhere with better cover. Charles looked into amber eyes. A gunshot echoed into the area. Charles later had to wash a dead man's brains out of his hair._

The telepath pulled away from the memory just as he was thrown across wooden floors. He could feel Apocalypse stalking after him, that familiar darkness following his figure. A tendril of shadow reached forward, brushing across his leg. Charles instantly started screaming. _NoNoNO. ColdColdColdCold._ He shook his head to clear the feeling of utter wrongness. A hand grabbed him again and he was thrown back into the foyer, crashing into another wall and another memory.

_He's standing in bright sunlight and under blue sky, all while wearing black. His eyes are downcast and Raven hangs at his arm, eyes sad but no tears ever falling. Charles hadn't either, but everyone was waiting for the moment the floodgates opened. It was only a matter of time. The coffin was being lowered into the dark earth. He received condolences from everyone. After all, a boy of seventeen was burying his mother right next to his father. The priest stood at the head of the procession, saying his solemn words on a sunny day, "Sharon Xavier was a mother loved by her children..." And Charles snapped. He started crying because he didn't. How can a person love a mother who would rather pretend he didn't exist? Who could love a mother who favored a drink more than her own family?_

"You are known to be the world's strongest telepath," Apocalypse spat at Charles's stunned form on the ground, he still towered over the man, "why can't you get up? You're being very disappointing."

Charles tried to lift his head, but he was still reeling. There was no doubt his physical body was feeling the effects of the psychic shock. The telepath just laid there, trying to gather his wits, trying to focus his thoughts on an attack. There were too many voices. He couldn't focus. 

"Hey! Dumbass!" The telepath's head snapped up at the new voice. Apocalypse turned to face the newcomer. Standing before them was none other than Peter. The form wasn't entirely solid and it allowed for Charles to see straight through the boy, but he was still there. Somehow. "Come on. Pick on someone who isn't like fifty!"

Apocalypse reached for the boy but Peter was already across the room. They repeated the actions again and again while Charles gathered his senses. Eventually, he managed to sit up and it hit him. He had shattered all of his mental shields. He had pulled minds but now, he pulled in abilities. He dragged in what he needed. And it appeared he needed a distraction. 

Peter's mental presence darted around, keeping the god occupied as Charles climbed to his feet. The silver-haired boy was suddenly beside him and the two high-fived. Erik's son nodded at him and grinned wide, "Go kick his ass, Prof."

And he _dissolved._ Apocalypse blinked at the sight but he didn't have time to go in for another attack, Charles brushed his fingers against his temples and suddenly a flash of lightning broke through the ceiling and it sent the god to his knees. Apocalypse began to shrink at the lightning continued. He looked upwards and Ororo's presence looked down at him. She threw him a smile and thumbs up. The girl dissolved soon after. 

"How?" Apocalypse demanded, eyes wide at the display, "How?!"

"Easy," Charles ground out, eyes narrowed as he towered over the god, "they believe in me enough to borrow a manifestation of their powers. You, on the other hand, are alone. And, _I'm not._ "

A grin cracked across his face as he punched Apocalypse in the throat.

* * *

 

Erik felt the god's presence before anyone else in their small army. He blinked, whipping around to get a defense up, only to be greeted with a large hand wrapping around his throat. His eyes went wide as his air supply was suddenly caught off. Alex let out a surprised shout, "Erik!"

"Pathetic." Apocalypse spat, eyes white. Erik's hands clawed at the god's forearm but there was no yielding on his throat. The grip tightened and the metal benders vision went white. "You can't win this."

Mystique let out an angry screech and charged, Hank at her side, but the god waved his hand and the two were sent crashing into an unsuspecting Alex. All three went down in a groaning heap of pain. Erik could feel his heartbeat and just as his hands let go, there was a cloud of smoke above. Kurt landed on the god's shoulders, tail stabbing into his back. The god dropped Erik just as Kurt disappeared in another cloud of smoke. Erik rolled over to be on his hands and knees, retching and trying to breathe. Apocalypse went to grab him again, but Kurt appeared again, shoes smashing into the god's torso. The teleporter disappeared as Apocalypse staggered away.

Kurt appeared next to Erik. And then disappeared, only to appear on his other side. This process continued until there was a cloud of blue smoke hiding them from the angry god. The teleporter grabbed onto Erik and soon enough, they were with the others. Erik looked up, a hand massaging his throat all the while. Storm was holding out her hand, eyes white as she used the wind to keep the cloud of smoke in one spot. Apocalypse clawed at empty air in his attempts to get free.

"Nice." Erik wheezed, clapping the teleported on the shoulder, "Good idea with the smoke screen."

"Oh thank you, sir!" Kurt's tail wagged at the compliment. "But, what should we do now?"

Erik glanced upwards, "I have an idea. Psylocke, how much of a distraction can you be with your weapons?"

"I can slice him up all I want, but he'll only get pieced back together," Psylocke explained flatly, spinning the hilt of her sword in her grip, "the odds of me landing a hit actually worth a damn are slim to none."

"But you can be a distraction?"

"Yes."

"Good." Erik nodded at her and she only raised an eyebrow in return, "So, here's the plan..."

* * *

 

"Your friends are quite powerful." Apocalypse grinned through his teeth as he took every hit from Charles, even with blood in his teeth, he continued speaking as if this was only a minor inconvenience. He shook off the blow to his jaw and simply continued, "Though, it appears that they can't find a way to kill me. It appears they're relying on you."

Charles took a step back and stared at the god. His eyes narrowed dangerously. "And it appears that you can't find a way to beat me."

The telepath jumped backward as the god lashed out at him. There was still the darkness around him, but now it crawled outwards. It poisoned everything it touched. The blue-gray hue was slowly becoming a grey and the intricate details of the manor's foyer were beginning to dull over. Charles blinked, grounding himself. It didn't last for long, though. If he focused for a short amount of time, he could feel his memories and feelings becoming twisted. He was afraid of what would happen if he let go.

And so, Charles reached out with his telepathy. Not to his friends, or just the mutants of the world, but everyone. He reached out to their minds, becoming a small presence at the forefront as he plucked what he needed from their minds. No one would notice what he had done. It took a total of two seconds, but it felt like an eternity. He could feel the pull of everyone's mind, their beckonings to end the pain or take away the things it didn't want. Charles pushed past all that. He had something he needed to look for.

"You want to destroy this world?" Charles growled out suddenly, he could feel a new rage beginning to burn in his chest, "You want to rid the earth of humanity?"

Apocalypse grinned and a shadowy tendril lashed out, dragging the telepath forward into the darkness, but Charles never panicked. He could feel it all now. **NoMoreFlaseGods.** _OroroAndCharles._ **EndOfTheWorld.** _MyNameIsCharlesXavier._ **YouBelongToMe.** _IWillNotBreak._ The telepath pushed through it all. He gritted his teeth in pain and placed his hands on his either side of the god's head. Apocalypse's eyes widened.

**"Feel it all then."**

Charles found the pain of the world. Each pain different, but so very similar. And, he gave it Apocalypse. The god staggered backwards under the assault of new emotions and senses. His influence snapped and Charles took the opportunity. The presence of the Summers brothers appeared and both were practically buzzing with energy. There was a long and drawn out flash of red light before the others dissolved. Apocalypse was now a heap on the floor, skin smoking and writhing in pain. Hank and Psylocke appeared next, the two worked together quite well. Psylocke cut into him while Hank simply took to a beating. They were like a perfect cycle of pain. And by the time they were done, there was nothing left of the formidable god but a still mass on the floor. The two were gone as Charles stood over Apocalypse.

"If you want to become a god then know what you're getting into." The telepath spat. 

"I do."

There was a sudden moment of weightlessness and Charles found himself slamming into the metal floor of the hallway that lead to Cerebro. He hissed in pain but looked up to see the god standing above him, eyes narrowed and a look of triumph on his face. He placed a foot on Charles's back, right over his spine, right over the scar where the bullet had been. Right over the spot Apocalypse had fixed to let him walk again. 

"Such a shame, Charles," The god sighed, "if you hadn't struggled, imagine the world we would've had. I would've had your ideals. And now? I have to kill the perfect vessel for my next body. How depressing."

The god applied pressure with his foot. The telepath blinked and when Apocalypse twisted his foot, he did the only thing he could. He started screaming in pure, unadulterated agony.

* * *

 

Apocalypse didn't even have time to react to the attack. Erik saw sure to that. The Summers brothers had each sprinted in a different direction, both taking the opposite side of the god. There was a moment when Storm let the cloud of blue smoke pass before Scott lifted his glasses and Alex glowed with a red energy. Then the two fired. There was a flash of red and suddenly, the god was sandwiched between to beams of plasma. The sound was awful. There was a sound of sizzling skin, but no matter the heat, the god always bounced back due to his healing mutation. 

Storm floated above them and when the time was right, she called for lightning. Not the type that came from her fingers, but the type that came from an actual storm. The clouds above seemed to part as a single, blinding white bolt cracked down in the center of the plasma beams. Apocalypse let out an angered yell and before anyone could react, an explosion sent them all flying. 

Erik hit the concrete while Storm hit a car, denting the metal roof of it. Both Psylocke and Mystique were thrown into Hank, while they all crashed into even more rubble. Scott and Alex were thrown away, both of the brothers hit something hard and fell to the ground. Unconscious. Jean was the only one who got away just fine. Apocalypse stood, the varying degrees of burn on his body were healing at alarming rates and soon enough, his skin was clear as if this had never happened.

He waved his hand and suddenly, a piece of earth climbed up Psylocke's legs, holding her in place. She tried to fight it, but only succeeded in having the stone squeeze painfully. She let out a hiss of pain. Storm was too stunned to move, so Apocalypse made no attempt to do anything to that other horseman. He stalked towards Hank and Mystique. 

"No!" Erik shouted suddenly. Metal piping burst from the ground and wrapped itself around the legs of the god. He went to kick it away or melt it, but Erik held on. "You're not hurting them. Do you understand?!"

The god managed to get free after leaning down and bending the metal with a surprising amount of strength. Erik blinked and reached for something else. He could feel it moving and writhing and going in a certain beat. He reached for the iron in the god's body before simply, heating it up. The reaction was instant. And he found himself elsewhere.

_Erik had never been to the Manor's basement or even its version of Cerebro, but logical guessing had told him this was the hallways that lead to it. He blinked, mind still struggling to get used to the sudden atmosphere change. His body caught up faster than his mind did. He blinked and saw the way Apocalypse was stepping on someone a few feet away. And said someone was screaming in agony. Making those horrible sounds that people in the camps did. He swallowed. Charles should never make a sound like that. Apocalypse was making Charles scream like that. And it filled him with a rage._

_Since his body caught up first, he sprinted over. His eyes narrowed, he squared his shoulders and tackled the god. The two crashed into the ground with an audible thud while Charles looked up. His eyes went wide in shock, but his appearance is what made Erik's eyes widen with worry. His face was a mess of bruises and scratches. There was blood in his teeth and he was covered in so much dirt._

_Astral plane or not, Erik decided that Charles should never have to look like that._

_"Erik?"_

_"Charles?"_

_"Why do we keep ending up like this?"_

_"No clue."_

_And Apocalypse rolled out from under him. The god waved a hand and Erik was sent flying across the hallway, only to slam into the wall opposite. He hissed in pain, but his sense of metal reached out. It was only a reaction. A simple yet effective one. The door to Cerebro was torn away in an instant and it barreled in Apocalypse full force. The god was thrown down the hall. Erik, in return, knelt down beside Charles._

_"Are you okay?"_

_"I will be..." Charles breathed, allowing Erik to help him to his feet, "I think I can end this."_

_"How?"_

_Charles glanced at him, blue eyes practically glowing in the light, "Erik, how much do you trust me?"_

_"With my life." Erik raised an eyebrow once the question had set in, "Why do you ask?"_

_"Because I'm about to do something really, really stupid."_

_And, Erik was shoved out of Charles's mind before he could even question what the telepath meant._

The metal bender blinked as he came back to the real world. Apocalypse was still scratching at his skin in pain as his blood, very literally, boiled. Erik swallowed down the nervous energy burning in his chest as he glanced up to the building were Charles and his son had been the entire physical battle. Peter had volunteered to keep Charles company, well more an _"I'm going to be emotional support!"_ type of deal. 

He sent out a prayer to anyone who would list. Please, anyone, let Charles survive this.

* * *

 

Charles shook off the psychic damaged as he stalked towards Apocalypse. The god was still bending the metal so he could get free, but that really didn't matter. Charles lunged and caught the god's jaw. He forced the god to look at him and his eyes narrowed. Cerebro's hallway dissolved and so did the metal confining the god. The astral plane had transformed back into the Manor's foyer. Though, it still looked like a tornado had gone through it. A very, Charles-shaped tornado.

"What are you doing?"

"Ending this."

"You'll kill yourself."

"I know."

Apocalypse tried standing and moving, but Charles's hand on his face kept him still. He had destroyed his shield and that had kept the god busy for a time, but now? He only had one option left. He reached into every corner of his mind. Expanding his presence until everything was him. He swallowed, immersed himself in the things that made him him, and everyone else, well, everyone else. 

Charles had the power of a god at the moment. He felt everything. And now, he became everyone. 

Only to let it all go. 

No more Charles. No nore Apocalypse. Just two presences curled into a mind fit for one. It was just them, but the stronger of the two just reached out. It reached out to a girl with red hair and a flame buried deep inside. He had felt this power since the first day he met her. She was scared of it, he wanted to control it. It was both of their mistakes. So, he simply called out to the only other telepath. 

_Jean?_

_Professor. What are you doing?_ She sounded scared. Truly scared. _You're not you anymore._

_Jean. Let it go._

_What?_

_Your power. All of it. Let it go. It's okay._  He smoothed down her discomfort, shock, and fear. _Jean. It's the only way._

_I can't._

And, the professor reached inside. His mind passed her's and went for the fire. He found every ounce of self-control and shattered it. He released something, deep, bright, and even more dangerous. He could feel the way it crawled out towards the girl's mind, fire burning into everything. He now used all of his energy to wrap around the god. Holding the ancient presence still. Tethering him to it. What happened to one happened to the other. The ultimate extermination plan. 

_**Jean Let Go!** _

And she did. 

There was a bright light, the two burned, and then there was nothingness.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are over 400 kudos! Thank you all! And to all the people who have been comparing this to the movie and saying it's better, thank you all. I don't know how to respond, it just makes me really happy. :) 
> 
> We're one chapter from the last one! I may re-write this one later, though. :p

Erik couldn't explain what happened next. One moment they had all been fighting with Apocalypse and then the next, everything had frozen. And he meant everything. The metal had frozen in the electromagnetic field, while the smoke from fires stopped curling into the air, hell, even they stopped fighting. Everyone except Erik, the helmet kept him moving but he could only watch in shock as Jean moved forward.

Her expression kept changing as if she was at war with herself. She went from shock to outrage to fear in a matter of moments, but eventually, her expression melted into a deadly calm. Even with the helmet on he could feel the telepathic command guiding the girl, but Erik didn't know what she was going to do. Whatever Charles having her do, he hoped it would end this. 

There was a moment when Apocalypse blinked, staring over the red-head with a twisted grin on his face, "My daughter, what would you do to me?"

Jean didn't even respond. The air crackled with energy and suddenly, she threw her arms out. And Jean wasn't there anymore, instead, a phoenix manifested. Erik blinked in shock, staring at the colors that flew outwards. Reds, yellows, oranges, they all took a familiar bird-like shape. He almost didn't even realize that Jean was screaming, in pain or power, no one could tell. 

Apocalypse's eyes went wide, he tried to move, but thanks to a quick movement from Erik, metal burst from the ground and trapped him in a vice. The god's armor dissolved, piece by piece until there was nothing left. He didn't even seem scared, just shocked that such a great power could come from such a young girl. The colors of fire suddenly brightened and a piece of Apocalypse's skin turned periwinkle before dissolving into nothingness. The god blinked at the power and finally, a purple glow surrounded his body.

"He's getting away..." Hank breathed out. 

Storm's eyes went white and she held out a hand, "Over my dead body."

And she fired. White lightning cut into the purple energy and it disappeared. The girl let out a relieved smirk as the god's skin continued to curl away. In a moment of sudden clarity, the god whispered, "All is revealed."

And then, he was gone. Dissolved into a perfect nothingness. And there was a strange peace in the world.

The phoenix burned away, but Erik was already running towards the building where his son and Charles had hidden away. He was praying that the two were okay. He levitated himself up, easily climbing into the hole in the second story. The hammering in his heart was the only thing he could hear, even as his thoughts projected out a mantra of pure fear. _PleaseBeOkay!PleaseBeOkay!Charles!_ He burst into the room, ignoring the way his vision swam at the moment. His blood went cold and for a single moment, his heart stopped. And there was silence.

What he saw next would haunt him for years to come. 

Peter was kneeling next to Charles's body, hands together as he performed compressions. There was no reaction from the telepath's body. Charles's heart had stopped. Charles was dead. And Erik refused to believe it.

Erik was at his son's side in an instant, eyes wide. He had tossed the helmet to the side in his fear, hoping and praying to feel the telepath's presence in his mind. There was only a cold silence. "What happened?"

"He...just...stopped...breathing." Peter ground out, his arms were beginning to shake and Erik lightly pushed him aside. His son nodded at him in thanks when the metal bender took over. "I don't know what happened. Jean exploded, he started screaming...and then stopped."

Erik blinked, never pausing movement. He flashed back to their previous conversation. _"Because I'm about to do something really, really stupid."_  Erik felt his heart drop when he finally realized what Charles had meant. He knew he was going to die...and he had told Erik in their last conversation-no, previous. He couldn't consider it their last conversation, he just couldn't. He gave a breath, waited for the telepath's chest to deflate before continuing. His son looked terrified, dark eyes wide at the scene in front of him. Peter didn't know either of the two that well, but no one wanted to watch another person die in front of them. Erik gritted his teeth, refusing to stop even as his arms began to burn.

 _Charles!_ He projected, eyes wide. He could hear the others finally running in, their gasps of horror and shock alerting him to the numbers. _You are not dying on me, do you hear me? You aren't going anywhere._

He was faintly aware of Jean kneeling down across from him. Her eyes were sad, but despite her sweating and shaking, she spoke evenly. "Erik, he's fading fast."

"I...dont...care." The metal bender bit out, eyes starting to water. He could live in a world where Charles hated him. He could live in a world where they were enemies. But he refused to live in a world where Charles wasn't living anymore. "Help him!"

He gave a breath, waited a moment for the telepath's chest to deflate and then started compressions again. His arms were screaming at him to stop. He wouldn't. He wasn't losing anyone else. He had lost his wife and daughter, he'd be damned before he lost his second chance. _Charles. Please. Don't go anywhere!_

Jean gave a small smile and laid a hand on Charles's face. Erik fought the urge to snarl at her. And then, she closed her eyes. _You are not dying, Charles! I love you. Do you hear me! You aren't dying now!_ And then, Jean pulled her hand away. Charles drew in a breath.

And Erik could feel his heart beat again.

"Professor," the girl whispered, voice laced with a strange tenderness as the elder telepath stared at her with glassy eyes, "it's okay. You can sleep now. He's gone. We're here. You'll be safe. Okay?"

In response, the telepath gave off a small smile before his eyes slipped shut. Erik glanced down as he felt something touch his hand. Charles had laid his hand over Erik's, which was already over his own heart. _I heard you, Erik. And don't worry, I'm not going anywhere._

The sound of helicopter blades cut into the peaceful silence.

* * *

 

The next few hours were all a blur to Erik. Moira MacTaggert had appeared with other high-level CIA agents and had started barking orders. Thanks to the other CIA agents, they had all received the basic medical treatments that were dire. The wound across Peter's chest had been disinfected, all before being stitched close and wrapped. The same had happened with the wound in Erik's side and the wound on Hank's leg. The metal bender had pulled the remaining metal from the telepath's body before he was worked on. 

"We need to get you all to a hospital," Moira had said, staring at the damage before her, "as quickly as possible. Then we need to move you all to American soil."

Hank had frowned and stared at the CIA agent, "Why?"

"Emergency meeting at the United Nations has decreed anyone involved with Apocalypse to be executed immediately. The damage is all over the world." The human woman had actually sounded scared, "I have strict orders to get all of you back."

"What about us?" Storm had asked, eyes darting about nervously while Psylocke's grip on her sword had never wavered, "Will you kill us?"

Erik had rolled his eyes in response. "Of course not, you're coming with us. You both are with us now, aren't you?"

There had been no arguments with that. Just the way Erik liked it. After a few moments of the other CIA agents explaining what their wounds held, they had all been decreed safe for flight as long as they visited a hospital within the next ten hours. Moira had insisted on coming with them the second they mentioned their other and faster way of transportation. Her excuse had been her clearance level with the CIA, she could get them anywhere safely. The acceptance of her into their group had been instantaneous.

Thanks to Kurt's teleportation ability, they had all ended up in Stryker's stolen jet in a matter of moments. And as soon as they were able, they took off. 

And that was how Erik found himself sitting on the metal floor of a jet, hands holding Charles's head still to prevent the stitches from tearing. He had set the telepath's legs straight being he was afraid of would happen if Charles woke up with no feeling in his legs.

"He's going to be fine." Jean soothed from beside him, she was buckled into her seat while Erik had simply magnetised both himself and the remaining armor on Charles's person to the floor. "I promise. He just needs rest."

Erik swallowed down the bile in his throat quickly, "He knew he was going to die."

Jean said nothing, instead, Psylocke spoke up quickly from her spot across from Jean, "He did, but he thought his safety didn't matter when it came to ours." The former horseman was actually quite kind when a person got under that cold outer shell, Erik hadn't even cracked it, but Charles had. "Charles is the reason Ororo and I were able to break free from Apocalypse's hold."

"The Professor sure is something." Jean had grinned. Moira and Hank were busy piloting while the others all managed to catch some sleep. "I'm just amazed he managed to fight back."

"Why isn't he waking up?" Ororo asked suddenly, she had apparently been listening to the conversation, despite using Psylocke's shoulder as a pillow, "Shouldn't we keep him awake so he doesn't go into a coma or something?"

All eyes were on the youngest telepath as if she knew what was happening. The girl let out a sigh, "The Professor once told me that if a telepath uses too much energy, they'll fall into a sort of regenerative sleep. There's no telling how long he'll be out."

And that was the end of the conversation for the next few hours. No one spoke again until Hank had landed the jet on a helipad that was atop a hospital in New York state.

* * *

 

The confused stares they had been given were practically painful. Erik was used to them, but from the way Scott didn't meet anyone's gaze or the way Kurt tried to make himself as small as possible was more than enough to tell the elder mutant that they weren't used to this. Alex, surprisingly, had stood up to a nurse who had called Kurt a demon. The woman hadn't returned but a few more friendly nurses stood around, passing out coffee to the elder mutants and giving out food to the younger ones. 

"How much longer?" Kurt asked, his accent strange among the sea of American ones, "How much longer until the others are finished?"

The nurse he had asked blinked, "Most of the stitching patterns you all received earlier were actually well done. Your friend with the silver hair had to have his redone due to the fact he tore some when racing another patient with a wheelchair. The other man, Professor Xavier, is having his spine X-rayed. We don't know when he'll be done, but you all are welcome to some of the extra pillows and blankets in the storage room."

She left without another word. The television had long since been switched off due to the same report on the disaster in Cairo kept rolling across every television station. Moira had managed to have some other CIA contacts bring fresh clothes to replace their soiled ones. So, Erik found himself sitting quite comfortable in a pair of dark jeans and a large sweatshirt. The others all wore similar outfits. 

Mystique looked over at the others, "We're probably going to be here all night. Do any of you want to head back to the mansion?"

No one agreed. Scott had spoken up instantly, "No way I'm leaving now. I call one free hit on the Professor when he wakes up." If in that moment, looks could kill, the boy would have been dead five times over. "Woah, woah. I'm not going to punch him in the face. Calm down."

There were a few bouts of nervous laughter from some of the younger students, but eventually, Erik saw the sad look on Moira's face. "Moira, what have the United Nations been saying about this?"

The woman let out a long sigh before resting her head against the wall, "I shouldn't tell you about this, but I am anyway. There have been calls for emergency...restriction on certain mutants."

"That's illegal!" Mystique suddenly snarled, yellow eyes flaring with rage. Hank snarled next to her. "They can't do that. They passed a law after M-Day that gave us free rights to live!"

Moira let out a sigh, "I know, I know. They think that mutants with a power level such as Charles's should have certain restrictions on their powers. After all of the nuclear missiles were fired into space, the decision was unanimous. Some of the smaller countries even called for Charles to get the death penalty because he was the only telepath able to do that."

"They're not getting to him." Erik ground out instantly, the metal on the chairs began to vibrate dangerously and all of the children looked scared, "They'll have to go through us first."

"It's not likely they'll go through with it." Moira explained hastily, "The US has vetoed that action. The world is scared, now more than ever. Mutant hate crimes have flared up because of it. What Apocalypse did has scared everyone. We don't know what to do now."

"The Professor will." Jean spoke up, her eyes suddenly fierce, "He always does."

The CIA woman smiled, "Let's hope he does."

* * *

 

It had taken a little over four hours for Charles's X-Rays to be finished, along with his stitches and burns being attended to. Erik now sat at his bedside, a constant guardian should anyone unwanted try to do anything. Mystique and Hank were sitting across from him, Hank in a chair and Mystique perched on his lap, much to the former's opposition. Eventually, Mystique blinked, "He's going to be fine. Then we're going to fix this mess."

"I hope so," Erik breathed out, letting his head hang in defeat, "because...I don't know what to do if we can't fix this."

The two stared at him, both shocked at his sudden confession. They were used to Erik always having a plan, usually not a good one, but a plan nonetheless. It was weird seeing the aggressive man hang his head in exhaustion and defeat. Erik suddenly looked so much older. Mystique offered a comforting smile. "Everything's going to be fine, don't worry Erik. You can stay here with Charles, Hank and I will go track down the doctor to see about Charles's spine."

And she jumped up, blue hand wrapping around Hank's before dragging the taller man out the door. Erik called after her, "Thank you, Mystique."

That left him alone with the unconscious telepath. Erik let out a sigh and stared at Charles. The smaller man was paler than usual and his dark hair was stuck to his forehead with sweat despite the chill of the room. He looked very small and very sick in that bed. Erik found himself whispering, "Please Charles, just be okay. I know you probably can't hear me...but, please. Just be okay."

He reached out, placing his hand over Charles's. His eyes closed and suddenly, he was somewhere else.

_He was standing in the gardens at Xavier Manor. The emerald shrubbery blew soundlessly in the wind as the golden sun glowed above. Everything seemed beautiful and fake. Erik turned, trying to find where he was but that's when he saw a familiar table in the center of the garden. Flowers colored the scenery in spots of colors not found in nature. The metal bender picked his way across the grass until he sat down in the wooden chair across from a familiar figure._

_"Ah, Erik," the telepath greeted him warmly, the telepath looked much younger. His face that of twenty years prior, "just in time. Fancy a game, old friend?"_

_He stared down the painfully familiar chessboard. He nodded, white went first. So, Erik plucked up a pawn and moved it forward. "Am I talking to you, or to a memory?"_

_"A little bit of both." Charles smiled, moving his own pawn, "I had to shatter all of my mental shields to fight Apocalypse. I'm trying to rebuild them while I sleep, but the voices don't stop. I'm using old memories to keep them at bay."_

_"You died."_

_"I know."_

_"Why did you do that to yourself?"_

_The telepath suddenly looked very sad and the happy garden dissipated into a cramped study. The curtains were blocking the windows and there was hardly any sunlight. Charles had gotten older, he now sported a beard and a robe. He tapped his temple, "There was a piece of Apocalypse's mind attached to mine...I was afraid if I drew back, he would use me to come back to life."_

_Erik raised an eyebrow, ignoring how his heart twisted upon seeing this side of Charles again, "So you thought it was easier to die with him?"_

_"I guess I did." Charles laughed suddenly, his eyebrow twitched and the scenery dissipated for a moment before returning, "I do thank you for the CPR, though. I could also hear your thoughts."_

_The metal bender moved his chess piece, "You did?"_

_"I love you too, Erik."_

_And they continued to play chess, no other words spoken between the two._

* * *

 

It had taken a total of three days for Erik, with the help of Jean and the others to rebuild the mansion. Thanks to his abilities, he had managed to restore the mansion to its former glory, all while making it more updated and so much better. The school was now bigger, more floors and a lot more empty rooms for future students. Erik had also built ramps into the school for Charles to use when he woke up.

"It's amazing, Erik." Hank had gaped, entering the new foyer and staring at the hanging chandelier, "I don't know what to say."

"You can just thank me, okay?" Erik chuckled, hand patting the other man on the shoulder. He stared at the students as they slowly moved back into their rooms. Ororo and Psylocke just stood over at the side, the only things they had fitted into a backpack. He glanced over at Hank, "What was the final notice on Charles's spine?"

A grin broke out on Hank's face. "The doctor said that the nerves in his spine have been healed. With months of physical therapy, he'll walk again. He'll still need the chair because of nerve decay in his legs, but Erik, he's going to walk again."

And Erik was smiling. If he had to thank Apocalypse, that would be the only reason he would do so. "That's good. Is Jean still at the hospital with him?"

"Yeah, I'm actually going to go pick her up." Hank explained, jingling the keys in his furred hand, "I'll see you in a bit." He waved and exited through the already open door. 

Erik walked over to the former horsemen and they just looked at him. The metal bender just stared at them in return, "Aren't you going to move in? I'm sure you could snag a room with a lovely view of the grounds, Ororo."

"I can...stay?" She whispered, eyes wide. 

"Of course," Erik replied, slightly confused at her happy reaction "why wouldn't you be?"

Her grin went wide and Erik was suddenly reminded how young she really was. "I've never been to a real school! Oh, this is amazing! Thank you, Mr. Lehnsherr!"

She clapped her hands together and darted up the stairs. Psylocke smiled as she watched her friend run. Erik blinked at the older woman, "You're not planning on staying, are you?"

"I haven't decided yet." She answered flatly, "If you haven't noticed, I'm a little old to be going back to school. I'm waiting for Charles to wake up if I'm actually going to leave."

"I think he'll be happy you waited," Erik tried his hand at humor, "and I think the children are more than happy you've been chasing off the press."

She smiled in return and walked up the stairs to follow Ororo. Erik watched her go. He knew things were changing, he just didn't know how much they were.

* * *

 

_"The children are very worried about you," Erik explained, leading the child version of Charles through the dark halls of his home, "you do know that right? They keep talking about throwing a huge party when you get back. You're their hero now."_

_"I take it that Jean has told everyone I was the one who defeated Apocalypse?" He grinned, his voice sounding so very strange in his child body and when Erik nodded he started to laugh, "That's very kind of her. What has the outside world been saying about the mutant predicament? Jean has been telling me all about it when she visits."_

_Erik blinked and eventually nodded at the telepath's first question. "They want you to speak at the United Nations on the behalf of all mutants...when you're well of course."_

_"How is Peter? How are the reactions know that Magneto has a son?" Charles grinned._

_"He's loving all of the attention," Erik explained, laughing to himself at how he remembered Peter basking in the attention of the girls at the school, "Moira managed to clear my name of all criminal records since I helped with Apocalypse. So, I'm not really that big of a news story anymore."_

_"And I bet you're hating that, aren't you?"_

_"A bit, yeah."_

_Charles tossed his head back and laughed. The scene dissipated and Erik found himself standing in an apartment. He saw a picture of Big Ben and knew this to be Charles's and Raven's apartment over in Oxford. He suddenly looked a lot older, Erik blinked when he remembered this was only a few days before he met the telepath. "I can feel their worry about me. I try to do something about it, but I can't."_

_"You can wake up and it will be done and over with." Erik offered._

_"Yeah, but there is one thing I haven't been honest about." Charles frowned, Erik's eyebrows went to his hairline in a warning gesture, "The reason I keep changing the scenes like this is because...I can still feel Apocalypse."_

_"Charles..."_

_"He's in my head. His power is there too." The telepath looked so very defeated for a moment and the sunlight in the apartment dimmed, "I've been locking it up with different memories. I can't let it out. Because...I'm afraid that if I use it, he could come back."_

_Erik placed a hand on Charles's shoulder and leaned forward, "Don't worry. I trust you. If Apocalypse does find a way to come back, I promise, I will stop him. I will stop you. You have my word."_

_The scene dissipated and Erik smelled saltwater, "You're name is Charles Xavier and you won't break. Okay? So, tell me now, where are we?"_

_Charles leaned forward too, forehead resting against Erik's. He could feel that tight ball of fear that had been present suddenly disappear. Erik smiled as the telepath answered truthfully, "I'm on a beach...in Cuba...with you."_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is the epilogue! :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the final chapter! Sorry about the wait, I had some personal things to take care of, but here it is!

Seventeen days and counting.

Seventeen days and Charles hadn't woken up yet. Seventeen days and Erik was still there, alone and always waiting.

So, naturally, anyone would've been itching to get out of the house. His ticket out had been when Peter volunteered the two of them to return some leftover tents back to some CIA compound about six hours away. Erik, in return, had shrugged and went on the condition he drove because, despite the stupid stunts in the past few decades, he still wanted to actually live.

"Oh my god," Peter groaned thirty-seven minutes into their six-hour journey, the silver-haired boy practically smashed his head against the dashboard, "we're in a giant metal contraption. And you're Magneto for god's sake! Can't you get this thing to go even a little bit faster?"

Erik rolled his eyes, he still didn't see the resemblance between them. Hank's quickly done paternity test had proved him the father, he was still awkward around the boy. Well, who wouldn't be when the first time you meet your son is during your own prison break? "Peter, my name was just cleared of all crimes thanks to the UN. I am not getting a speeding ticket on my record just yet."

"Oh my god this is taking forever!"

"We just got out of Westchester County."

The groan that followed was long, drawn out and was the definition of bored. Erik rolled his eyes and Peter just decided to distract himself with moving his seat up and down. It was a total of three minutes later, a whole new record for Peter, when he finally shot up and shouted, "Did you hear that Mystique told Kurt he was her son?"

"Volume." Erik snapped and his son went quiet the second his seat belt began to tighten, "And yes, I heard. The whole house was in an uproar."

"Oh yeah."

Peter grinned when he remembered the shocked screeching throughout the household. It had ended with Hank explaining some things to some terrified neighbors and people placing bets on when the next big secret was coming out. Though the latter wasn't official in the eyes of Hank, nor Erik as long at the metal-bender got good odds on Mystique and Hank making out in a storage closet.

"The betting pool is going well," Peter said suddenly, pulling out a notepad and flipping through it. Erik rolled his eyes and switched lanes to get on the highway. "So far, there are good odds on Jean and Scott getting together."

"No surprise there."

Erik glanced at his son and pursed his lips as the list was read to him, "Followed by Jubilee lighting the house on fire, Alex going on another three hour Vietnam rant, Scott destroying another of the Prof's family trees, you paying Child Support, the Prof snapping and finally strangling someone-"

"Wait what was that last one?"

"You paying child support?" Peter grinned.

"I feel like I should be a responsible adult here and tell you to stop with the pool," Erik said slowly, eyeing his son but beginning to smile anyway, "but add ten for me on the one with Scott and the trees and I won't say anything to Charles."

Peter saluted, scribbled something down and looked back up, "Gotcha' pops."

Erik smiled to himself. He never thought about Peter as his son until after the war in Cairo, but now? It seemed so easy. He hadn't even realized he had slipped back into that father-type role until Peter slipped and tore his stitches again. Erik had been the one to re-stitch the boy up, but everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Peter had finally gotten them out a few days prior.

He still missed Magda and Nina and he always would, but he was just secretly happy that he had other people to fill the void with.

 

The two had arrived at the house around seven in the morning the next day. Erik stood from the car, knees cracking as he did so. He yawned and stretched, he had driven through the night while Peter was practically vibrating with the energy he had gained due to a three-hour nap. The metal-bender raised an eyebrow when he found that there were no children on the lawn, he knew something was amiss. Despite the early hour, there were usually children racing for the mailbox or running around their pajamas, or at least something.

But there was no one out there. And it was suspicious as hell.

Erik strode up to the house, opening the unlocked door with ease. He reached outwards for the large collection of moving iron and simply followed it. Voices grew louder as he strode through the winding hallways. Eventually, he reached the room where, according to the other students, Charles always taught. He could hear murmurs, said murmurs being shushed and suddenly, a new voice spoke clearly. He knew that voice. He knew the English accent.

His heart skipped a beat as Charles's voice drifted through the hallways, " _Lastly, she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers would, in the after-time, be herself a grown woman;_ "

Erik leaned in, eyes widening at the mass of people just listening to Charles read. The Professor looked so much smaller in his wheelchair now, he was paler and his hands shook slightly on the worn copy of _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ , but he never stopped reading. Erik knew this to be the closing remarks, but when he saw the way the children were still clad in their own pajamas, Erik knew that they hadn't been to sleep in some time.

" _and how she would keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her childhood:_ "

Charles read slowly, giving life to the words as he did so. There was no indication that the telepath was even aware of Erik's arrival. From his position in the entryway, he could see everyone. Ororo sat on the floor, two sleeping children leaning on her while Psylocke was perched on the stairs a few feet away. Mystique and Kurt sat next to one another while Hank just listened intently. The remaining children were all seated in various spots across the floor.

" _and how she would gather about her other little children, and make their eyes bright and eager with many a strange tale, perhaps even with the dream of Wonderland of long ago:_ "

It had taken Erik a few moments to realize that the words were also thrumming through his mind, not painfully, but instead, they had become so much like a melody. It was calm and tranquil.

" _and how she would feel with all their simple sorrows, and find a pleasure in all their simple joys, remembering her own child-life, and the happy summer days._ "

The telepath closed the book slowly, blue eyes glancing at the children and his friends. He looked up and his eyes met Erik's. The two stared at one another for a few moments as Hank directed the children back upstairs with the promise of 'We'll wake you up later, don't worry, the Professor isn't going anywhere.'. Erik crossed the room slowly once the children had begun to file out, some of the younger ones being carried by an older one. The metal-bender had to admit, it was pretty funny seeing Hank carry seven children like it was nothing.

"Lewis Carrol?" Erik questioned the yawning telepath, "Really?"

"It was either that or Shakespear," Charles smiled, "I figured not all of the children would want to hear about a man talking to a skull, you know?"

Erik laughed, a smile on his face as he rested a hand over the prone one on Charles's chair arm. "Well, it's good to see you up and around, old friend. How are you?"

The telepath smiled, "Just a bit tired, but I guess that happens when you spend the night reading to excited children."

"So," Erik chuckled, "you haven't been to sleep yet? What time did you even get back?"

Charles glanced up, blue eyes glittering, "Hank brought me home around midnight last night. Apparently, it caused some of the kids to wake up and it all went downhill after that."

The metal-bender blinked, he straightened and then moved to go behind the wheelchair-bound Professor. Charles tossed a confused look over his shoulder as Erik's hands curled around the handles. He pushed the telepath from the room, nodding in greetings to any passing children. After a few moments, Charles blinked, "Erik, what are you doing?"

"Taking you to your room," Erik replied, "I know very well all-nighters with children don't end well. So, you're going to sleep and I will wake you up in a few hours."

"Erik, no-"

"Erik, yes." 

* * *

 

"You're not staying, are you?" Charles asked a few days later, he was sitting in his study with his sister across from him, "You don't have to lie to me anymore. I know you better than you think."

Mystique blinked, golden eyes glittering. She hadn't returned to her other form ever since the battle in Cairo and Charles considered it a victory. "I'm sorry Charles, there are still mutants out there. They're running and they're scared...and now it's worse than ever. Apocalypse made humanity afraid."

She watched with guilt as her brother suddenly looked very deflated and so much older than he should have. She reached across the desk and laid her hand over Charles's. He glanced up and finally sighed, "I know. I just figured...we could help them together."

"I know." Mystique sighed, "I'm leaving tomorrow night. Don't worry, I'll try to stop by as much as I can."

Charles leaned forward, "So, where are you heading first?"

"Europe. There has been difficulty sorting out missions and intel ever since Caliban's...death." She watched the telepath flinch at the word. She didn't need to be able to read minds to know Charles had been responsible for it. "You'll be getting some European students soon."

"Why, thank you, and speaking of European students," Charles grinned suddenly, "how is Kurt taking the knowledge that the hero of M-Day is his mother?"

Mystique laughed, "He couldn't believe it. He thought it was because we were both blue at first. You should have seen his face when he realized I wasn't lying! I nearly fell down the stairs from when he hugged me."

"I can hear his thoughts and they are so happy. He's happy because he actually has a family." Charles explained, "You wouldn't believe the shock when people realized he's my nephew."

"At least you finally have someone to spoil at Christmas."

"I have plenty of someones to spoil as Christmas," Charles grinned and he tapped his temple, "and I always know what they want."

The two siblings started laughing and didn't stop for awhile. To anyone on the outside, it would look like an odd family reunion where neither had changed at all. But in a matter of days, it had. Before Cairo, the relationship between the two was tense and growing tighter and tighter with every sharp word. But after, there was now a gap. Charles wanted nothing more than to be a family and Mystique wanted nothing more than to be free. 

"I hear Erik's planning on staying," Mystique said after she sobered from her laughter, "so have you two put aside your differences?"

Charles blinked, "Yes, you're always free to stay as well. Seeing that this is your home."

"This was never my home," the shapeshifter sighed, "I just lived here."

"You sound like you don't agree with what Erik's doing."

Mystique's eyebrow twitched and she finally sighed, "I don't. I remember him as a man willing to take on the world. Someone willing to make mutant-kind safe. And now? He's become a pacifist. I looked up to him a long time ago and now...I can't."

"His words and his footsteps."

"What are you implying?"

"Nothing, just if you're following in Erik's footsteps...then what does that tell us about your future?"

* * *

 

Mystique left late at night, long after everyone had gone to sleep. Well, almost everyone. Ororo watched as her dark blue form rippled into pale flesh as she darted across the lawn and out of sight. The white-crested girl let out a sigh and pulled the sleeves of her too-large sweatshirt over her hands. She had never felt cold temperatures like this before and it made her almost miss Africa. Almost. 

"Can't sleep?" She turned at the British accent only to find Charles wheeling towards her. She frowned slightly, he barely walked despite his ability to. Charles blinked and stared out into the lawn, "She'll be back. She always is."

"I don't doubt that..." 

The telepath raised an eyebrow, "What's bothering you?"

"The news reporters..." Ororo breathed, "they talk about wanting to find those responsible for Cairo. And killing them. I know I shouldn't be scared but I am. In Africa...they would cut off your hand if you were a thief and I don't want to think about what the world would do to me if they found out."

A hand was placed over her's and Charles gave a smile, "Don't worry. We're in the same boat, aren't we? And I promise nothing is going to happen to you. I'm giving a speech at the United Nations in a few days about our mutant involvement. I will make sure none of us are held responsible."

"What do you plan to say?"

"Whatever I have to."

* * *

Psylocke sat in an uncomfortable chair as she watched Charles hold himself up by two metal bars and walk along the track. She kept her eyes on the telepath the whole time and found herself contemplating stabbing the nurse every time a sardonic comment was said. She returned her magazine just as Charles flopped into the chair next to her's. She sighed, she honestly didn't remember how she got dragged to the telepath's physical therapy sessions. 

"Don't drown yourself." She grinned as Charles downed half of his water bottle, "I'd hate to explain it to the kids."

The nurse had left the room so it was just the two. Charles grinned, "Don't worry, I won't. Finding something to pass the time, I see?"

She glanced at the stack of magazines lying on the table. Psylocke shrugged, "Yeah. What has the doctor been saying about your legs? They started out fine and seem to be getting worse."

"Apocalypse fixed the damage to my spine so I can work my legs just fine, but when he died, the healing process stopped. The nerves that weren't finished healing stopped and now they're deteriorating." Charles rattled off easily as if he has had to explain this to more than one person. Psylocke didn't doubt the fact that he probably had, "So, I'll be able to walk a bit for the next few years and then I'll probably be back in a wheelchair."

"I'm sorry."

"For what? I get to walk more than I have in the past decade." Charles grinned and it was something bright, nothing twisted and dark Psylocke had grown used to. "I've been meaning to ask you, how have you been doing since...well, you know?"

Psylocke blinked, "Better. I saw enough things before Apocalypse to not get enough sleep. But, just knowing that he's gone helps. Ororo helps too, for a kid, she's pretty cool in my opinion. She's really glad you let her enroll."

"That's good." Charles chuckled, taking another drink of his water before he continued, "How are your lesson plans coming along?"

The woman rolled her eyes. She had agreed to stay permanently, but Charles had given her the option of teaching since she already knew plenty. She accepted and she now found herself teaching weapon management, everything from swords to firearms. It suited her somehow. "Just fine, classes start next week anyway. I have plenty of time to figure all of that stuff out."

"Just making sure."

"Anyway, what are you doing about the UN? You're speaking there in three days."

"About that..."

* * *

 

Erik was sure of it. The students had accepted him into their folds and even the teachers, albeit more slowly, had too. He could walk freely among the halls without worry and some of the younger students begged him to do the 'coin trick'. He always did and the laughter that followed was even nicer. The halls looked nothing like they had in the years prior, the drabby colors had been painted and the dark curtains had been replaced. Rooms had been added, like a pool, a gym, and another bunker, and others had been taken away, such as the rooms no one ever opened due to Charles's stern warnings. 

The garden had been replanted and the flowers were in peak bloom. Erik often spent time out there, either reading or playing a game of soccer with the children. He did his best to ignore the headstone among the flowers. He couldn't ignore the way the former horsemen stopped by it, saying a few words and keeping it up to date as if the body beneath it could hear them. Words were etched in the grey stone and Erik never wanted to read them.

**Warren Worthington III**

**A Life Gone Too Early**

His life at the manor had become normal. No fear of being arrested, no flinching at the name 'Erik', and no worry. The locket remained dutifully around his neck and he never took it off. It served as a memory, but more of a reminder. _Everything you love could be taken from you_. Charles had made promises that this time it wouldn't, he hoped the telepath was right. 

But he noticed something else. There was something wrong with Charles. 

He had headaches. 

Not the type that a person could work through, but the type that left you curled on the floor crying because the pain wouldn't stop. The telepath didn't leave his room on these days and Erik stayed with him. He hated seeing Charles in pain. He hated knowing that there was nothing he could do to stop it. On these days, Erik would hold Charles close, resting his forehead against his and taking some of the pain from him. No one mentioned it. _Psychic Trauma,_ Jean had supplied him with one night, _his mind is starting to scar over._ _He'll have to suffer through it._ Erik didn't sleep that night.

He had nightmares.

Erik had taken to sleeping in the same bed as Charles. Not because they'd occasionally get physical, but more so that he could wake up Charles when the telepath started thrashing in his sleep. He had woken up on more than one occasion to Charles scratching into the burns on his arms and begging for someone to get out of his head. Erik would wake him up and hold the telepath as he sobbed. Erik was really starting to hate this. 

He did his best to help, he really did. But Erik was out of his depth and Charles was drowning. So he decided to bring something up.

"There's something wrong with you," he said simply one night when they were playing chess. They were flying out to the United Nations building in the morning so Charles could give his speech, "and I want to try and fix it."

Charles looked up and Erik blinked. The telepath didn't look as young anymore. The lines on his face were starting to show slight and Erik had to laugh at the grey streak starting to appear in the telepath's hair. "And how do you propose we do that?"

"Bond my mind with your's."

And Charles froze. 

A long time ago, Emma Frost had told him about this certain telepathic ability. _A telepath will leave a piece of their mind in yours. You'll always feel them, you'd become a part of them. An intimacy nothing could hope to match._ He blinked at the memory and Charles just gaped at him. "Erik...do you know what that would do to you? You would become an extension of my mind. Old friend...that isn't something you could possibly want."

"Oh trust me, it is."

 

It had taken some persuasion, but eventually, Charles had sighed and agreed. Erik could feel his pulse thrumming in his blood as the telepath leaned forward, his fingers just barely brushed Erik's temple and there was no way to explain it. He had felt Charles's presence in his mind before and it was sunlight, but now, he could feel it. It felt like someone had lit a fire beneath his skin and let it go, it felt like someone was drowning him in ice water. His eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat.

 

He woke up to a stinging cheek and a very familiar form sitting on his chest. Erik blinked again, eyes adjusting to the light but he didn't have time to react before he was slapped again. He eventually held up a hand and growled out, "Peter...stop."

"Dude..." his son breathed, eyes wide, "what the hell? Jean and I were watching a movie and then she flipped shit. We came up here and found you two passed out. What the hell have you guys been drinking...and can I have some?"

"No." Erik sat up as Peter rolled off and stared at him. Jean was shaking an unconscious Charles, who had collapsed onto the chessboard and destroyed their game. He ran a hand through his hair and blinked, "How did you get in here?"

Peter pursed his lips. "Jean unlocked the door."

It was at this moment, Jean turned her head towards Erik. Her eyes were wide and she breathed out, "You two could have died. I felt you dying."

"And?"

"But you're here...more somehow." She blinked, eyes narrowing slightly until she pieced it together. "Oh...oh my god. The Professor always warned me about this...and then...just, oh my god."

Erik blinked. He could feel a headache building behind his eyes, but he ignored it. Charles let out a groan and sat up, he rubbed his temple before staring at Erik. He blinked and smiled. Jean rolled her eyes. 

* * *

 

The UN was exactly as Erik expected it to be. It was full of men in suits and their too stubborn thoughts. Ororo and Psylocke were one of the few women there, both in dresses and staring out into the crowd with uncertainty. Erik placed a hand on their shoulders and offered a grin. The two nodded and took their seat. Erik glanced over at Charles, who was wheeling himself over to the table where he would be speaking. 

You can stand and give your speech. It would make you more formidable. Erik offered mentally, Charles didn't even look at him. 

It's best to let them think what they will. No one worries about a man in a wheelchair.

Erik grinned to himself. And the members of the UN started to take their seats. He could hear the whispers. Some were of surprise at Charles, some were of disdain towards Erik, most were of fear of mutants. Ororo tensed beside him and Psylocke rested a hand over her's. Hank had taken a seat on the other side of Erik, his blue fur was groomed and cut to a more manageable length. 

Charles was introduced and the human applauded as a greeting. The telepath leaned forward, eyeing the cameras that were broadcasting across the world. He cleared his throat and started to speak. 

"Mutation, many may see it to be a gift. A gift can also be a curse. Give someone wings and they may fly too close to the sun. Give them the power of prophecy and they may live in fear of the future. Give them powers beyond imagination, and they may think they're meant to rule the world."

The room had tensed at the telepath's words, but as Charles continued, the tension began to unwind and the human just listened. 

"What happened in Cairo was evidence of that. A being thought he could rule the world and he was subsequently defeated. He wished for the destruction of humanity, but mutants stopped him. Why? Because we are no different from you. We helped save the world because we live here too. This is our home and we wish to live in peace. Ten years ago it was proven that there is not mindless bloodshed between our kinds and now, it has been proven that we will protect what needs to be protected."

He paused and suddenly, a diplomat from a European country spoke up, "Many don't share your view, Dr. Xavier. It is understood that you run a school that teaches mutant children to control their abilities safely. It would appear to many that you are building an army."

"As are you," Charles said suddenly, blue eyes pinning the diplomat to his seat, "as are all the counties in the room, but I am not building an army, I am teaching. These children have been kicked out of their homes for being different and many of them are scared to be who they are. So, I've taken them in. No one should have to live in fear of who they are, wouldn't you agree?"

There was a murmur among the crowd and another diplomat called out, "What would you do if someone attacked?"

Erik blinked at the question and did his best not to let his sudden rage vibrate all of the metal in the room. Psylocke tensed and Beast let out a soft growl. The passed under the clouds outside. But, Charles just leaned forward and Erik shivered at the cold and warning tone in his voice. It spoke of a warning, but also a promise of disaster should anything happen.

"I pity the poor soul who comes to my school looking for trouble."

* * *

 

Days later and the students were still buzzing about the Professor's harsh words. Peter had proclaimed the Professor to be a badass of the highest level while all of the children had agreed. Ororo did a gracious retelling of what had happened off camera it had kept the attention away from the two elder men for a few hours. Charles laughed when he felt all the thoughts of awe when the children looked at him.

"The kids won't shut up about your speech," Alex laughed as he made tea, "you've literally become their hero overnight."

Scott tossed his head back and laughed. He nodded at Charles and took another bite of his sandwich, "Alex is right. I've had to deal with so many giggling girls. I'm like ninety percent sure the majority of the student body has a crush on you."

Charles flushed scarlet while Erik burst out laughing. The metal-bender tried to stop himself, but one glance at Charles's red face sent him back into hysterics. When the others started laughing, Erik could feel the threats of murder thrumming through their bond. After a few moments, Charles finally let out a sigh, "I don't think it bothers them that I'm almost fifty."

Kurt choked on his drink after that. His eyes went wide and his tail thudded against the floor, "What?!"

Erik just shook his head, "Charles and I were born in the thirties. Why is everyone so shocked by that? I mean, Charles fought in Korea and I'm a holocaust survivor."

Peter snatched a sandwich off of Alex's plate and laughed, "It's probably because you two still look smokin' for fifty." Upon seeing the reactions from the elder men, Peter laughed and help up his hands. Both reactions were of shock, Charles was still scarlet and Erik's cheeks were beginning to dust the same color, "Just kidding. Jesus dad, don't blow a fuse. I'm _kidding_."

* * *

"I believe Nina had a form of telepathy," Charles mentioned one day when the two were walking among the trees of the property, "since she could talk to animals, her mind must have tuned into the same mental frequency."

Erik's heart twisted at the mention of his daughter and his grip tightened ever so slightly on Charles's hand, "I would've sent her here, you know? Magda and I...we wanted her to meet you. I told Magda about you and she seemed to really like you. I just wish you could've gotten to meet her."

Charles smiled and squeezed Erik's hand tighter, "I do too."

* * *

 

The metal-bender watched as Charles got better. It started out with small victories and soon they progressed into something bigger. 

The nightmares stopped first. The bond had allowed Charles access to Erik's thoughts and vice versa. So, Erik and Charles always found themselves sharing the same dream. It was on a rare occasion when Erik couldn't chase away a nightmare and soon, it stopped being an occasion.

Erik frowned when he saw the burns on Charles's arms didn't heal. They had been dark discoloration against pale skin and many children asked where they had come from. No one ever answered. Instead, the telepath wore long sleeves and no one had a problem with it. 

It was strange, seeing Charles change so little but at the same time, change so much. Erik could see how the man he had met back in the sixties was long gone, replaced by an older and wiser man who had been to hell and back. But, Erik, had changed too. He wasn't looking for blood anymore. He had found a family instead. Charles didn't love humanity as much anymore and Erik loved them more that he once had. It was a trade-off that the two both agreed wholly with. 

And they weren't Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr anymore.

Somewhere, along the way, they had become Professor X and Magneto.

And that's who they'd remain.

* * *

Erik stood tall in the metal room. Charles was behind him in the doorway, sitting in his wheelchair. He could feel the hum of the metal in his blood and the warm presence of the bond in his mind. The telepath was watching with intent and Erik didn't have to turn to see it. 

The metal-bender started to pace the room, the eyes of the others following his every movement. Their eyes were wide and their uniforms were new, but Erik didn't doubt their abilities for a second. 

"Forget everything you think you now. Whatever lessons you learned in school, whatever your parents taught you, none of that matters! You're not kids anymore. You're not students."

The walls opened and sentinels moved the shadows. The others turned to meet them and Erik announced the last words vocally and mentally. "You're X-Men!"

* * *

 

"Remember the future Logan told us about? Do you think we stopped it, Charles?"

"I don't know...but, we'll face it together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're finished!  
> I really enjoyed writing this fic and reading all of the feedback you guys sent! Thank you all so much :) So feel free to tell me what you guys thought!  
> I'm thinking of doing a Dark Phoenix/Onslaught sequel for this, but I haven't decided yet so keep your eyes open for that. :)
> 
> Thank you all again for reading!


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